From Sadness comes Sadness
by SquaredCircles
Summary: One day, Issac gets a package. Inside he finds a few things, but it's the pendant that catches his eyes. Falling asleep with it on causes him to be whisked away to a magical world of ponies? With terror building in his heart and his new friends in trouble, Issac must face the dangers of this new world while keeping his own demons at bay. OC, mild OOC. HiE. Adult themes.
1. Chapter 1: Introducing Issac

**Disclaimer:** I don't don't own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I do, however, own all of the OC's in the story unless stated otherwise. I also don't own Rubik's cubes.

 **WARNING: DARK-FIC. THIS STORY IS NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED. DO NOT READ IF DEATH, EXCESSIVE CURSING, SUICIDE, DRUGS, ALCOHOL, OR SELF HARM BOTHERS AND/OR EFFECTS YOU IN ANY WAY. THIS STORY CONTAINS THEM. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.**

 **AN:** Hello again readers! I am back, this time with an MLP fic! I'm hoping that this will be received well. It's going to be really dark in the beginning, as well as a few spots later on, so fair warning. I'm also now free to beta read, so PM me if you would like your story beta read. Also PM me if you have any ideas for the story. I won't include every idea I receive, but i will accept the ones I like. As always, enjoy the story and R &R!

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Introducing Issac**

Another day passes by. Another person dies. More time for me to wallow in despair. This time it was Alex. He shot himself in the head after he got into a fight with his parents. At least, that's what Hannah told me.

Looking at the text, I can't help but feel like its somehow my fault. Somewhere along the line I did something. I made him pull the trigger. It's my fault. It's always my fault.

Turning off the phone, I look at the nightstand next to my bed. The clock reads 5:37 AM. Well, I guess there is no sleep for me tonight, damn insomnia. I drag myself to the bathroom and take a quick shower.

Upon feeling refreshed, I hop out of the shower, towel myself dry, and change into my daily wear. A pair of black skinny jeans, a band T-shirt, and my Converse. Today's band T-shirt was Avenged Sevenfold. I combed my black hair down and swept it across my face, barely covering my blue eyes.

Another day... Let's get it over with. I left my house to take a walk around town. Hannah probably went back to sleep so I couldn't go see her, so I guess a cup of coffee wouldn't hurt. It's too early to drink anyways.

The town itself wasn't a bad place. Sure it had it's rough neighborhood, but what place didn't. I live in a small house near the edge of that neighborhood. Other than the few convenience stores and the one coffee place, it was a pretty dull piece of the world.

Rounding the corner of my block, I could see the coffee place, Express Espresso, at the corner. It was always open. That's one thing I can be thankful for.

Making my way to the front door, I could smell the sweet aroma of caffeine and coffee beans emanating from the shop.

"Hannah?"

"Hey Issac." The short, blond hair, green eyes girl waves at me, but no happiness is shown in her expression. It's something I don't see very often. She is always so cheerful and full of energy.

You join her at her table. "Hannah, why are you here this early? It's not even six yet."

"After hearing about Alex I couldn't go back to sleep, so I came here hoping to relax and try and get this off my mind. Why are you here this early?"

"Insomnia."

"Again? You need to go to the doctor or something."

"I'll be fine. How are you holding up?"

"So far so good." She gives a big sigh, so I reach across the table and grab her hand.

"You know it is okay to cry. Let's head back to my place, I just got to make a quick stop along the way." She nodded, tears already forming in her eyes.

I grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the coffee shop down the street. Passing by my place, she gives me a look of confusion.

"Where are we going?"

"I have to make a quick stop first. Thank God I have wallet on me."

"You're buying pot again aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"You really should stop that you know. It's not good for you."

"Neither is cutting your wrists, but you don't see me bitching to you about it, do you Hannah." That shut her up real quickly. She unconsciously tugged at her sleeve with her free hand.

After what seems like forever (only like 3 minutes) of walking into the 'bad' neighborhood, we got to the house I was looking for. I knocked and pulled out my wallet. After a moment the door opened to reveal a pasty white guy, no older than 23, glaring at us.

"What do you want?"

"Flowers."

"Oh. Come on in." He let you both inside, immediately greeting you with the smell of... flowers. As he walks to an adjoining room, he calls out to you.

"How much?"

"Ten this time Rex, and make sure it's the good stuff. Not that crap I got last time."

"Alright alright, don't get your panties in a wad." He leaves me alone with Hannah while he gets the... flowers.

"Flowers?" Hannah gives me a questioning look.

"It's code. There are always cops in this neighborhood so you have to be careful. He even gives you an actual flower in you buy something."

"How sweet." She deadpans. I give a slight chuckle at that.

"Here you are, just like you asked. Don't worry, it is definitely the good stuff, as promised. The flower is for the lady." He gives me a small bag and proceeds to give Hannah a white rose.

"It's so pretty."

"Yeah, I took a lot of florticulture classes in high school. I came to love plants. Anyways, pay up mister big spender."

You roll your eyes at him and hand him the money which he counts greedily. "All seems to be in order. Come back anytime!"

"You know I'll be back Rex, just can the dramatic crap."

"You wound me deeply Issac."

"Whatever, let's go." You grab Hannah's hand and head for the door. "Oh wait, almost forgot." You take the bag and place it in Hannah's purse. "I can't have anyone see that."

"Wait a minute! I'm not carrying your dope."

"Well if you don't, I can't leave. You wouldn't leave me here all alone, now would you?"

"... Never again will this happen."

"Thanks Hannah." We both leave the house and walk back towards my place, Hannah admiring the rose the whole way.

Finally back at my place, I take the 'dope' from Hannah and place it on my dresser.

"Hey Hannah."

"Yeah."

"Just cry already." She looks a little shocked at my choice of words, but soon she starts to tear up. That leads to quiet sobbing and then to full on crying.

"It's just not fair Issac!" She latches into my arm and I do my best to comfort her. "He was one of the last people we had! It's just not fair!"

"I know. It's hard for me too."

"How? You're not even crying."

"Practice. Bottling up my emotions is way easier than letting them show." She continues her crying for a while longer before coming to a stop.

"Thanks Issac. I needed that."

"Anytime. That's what I'm here for."

"I'm going to head home now. I need to talk to Sarah about this too. She needs someone's shoulder to cry on too."

"Crap. Sarah will take this the worst."

"Yeah... thanks again Issac." She gives my cheek a kiss before leaving. I'll never understand that girl. That kiss was completely sisterly, but I have had feelings for her for a while now.

Sighing, and falling back into my bed, I ponder about what I was going to do for the rest of today... God, life is so boring. I'm seventeen for crying out loud, these are supposed to be the best years of my life. No such luck for me.

Let's recount the past, shall we. Dad died when I was five from cancer, mom followed shortly after from not being able to deal with dad's death. She hung herself. I was taken in by my Aunt who despised me. I didn't like her that much either, but she gave me food and a bed so I wasn't complaining. Around age ten she said when I was eighteen, I was leaving. I got a job at fifteen and saved up some money to move out myself. The next year the cops show up with a lawyer stating that mom and dad had a very nice chunk of change in a private account for me. They said that since I wasn't eighteen, they were going to put the account in my aunts name until I became of age. Why they didn't show up earlier is beyond me.

She signed the papers, withdrew all of the money, took ten percent of it and said get out. She put the rest in my hands and left me with nowhere to go. I was of course a lot wealthier. I ended up going to my only friend, Hannah's place and asking if I could stay there. I promised I would pay for everything I used and I would even pay some of the rent if they wanted. They, being the nice people they are, took me in, but refused the money. After a year there, I bought a place of my own and this is where I've been for nearly the past year.

That's a pretty messed up life. Of course I didn't bother with school. After I turned seventeen, I dropped out and became a lazy shut in. The only skill I have that is remotely remarkable is my ability to solve a Rubik's cube. Yeah, I'm also a closet nerd.

Out if nowhere, I hear a knock on the door. Is Hannah back already? I get up to meet her, but I instead find myself face to face with a mail lady.

She was slender and about my height with slightly tanned skin. Her eyes were teal. Odd color for eyes, but they are still very pretty. Her uniform was midnight blue with splotches of black. Her bag was black with a moon on it.

"Can I help you?"

"Are you Issac Porter?"

"I never put my last name on anything. It disgusts me. How do you know it?" How the hell does she know my last name!"

"I thought so. My sister was very informative and you match the description." Okay, officially creeped out by the hot mail lady.

"What do you want?"

"Oh silly me, forgetting what I came here to do. This is for you. The letter will explain everything in more detail. I hope to see you again Issac." She walks away after handing me a square package.

"Wait! What's your name? You know mine, it's only fair that I know yours."

She turns and looks at you. "My official title is Princess Lunacae. You may just call me Luna." She turns around and then... disappears!? Okay, that was freaky as hell. Looking down at the box, I can't help bit wonder what's inside. Closing the door, I retreat to my bedroom, box in hand.

Pulling out a small pocket knife, I cut through the binding that held the lid shut and peeked at the contents of the box. On top was the letter that Luna spoke of.

Opening it revealed very elegant calligraphy. Damn, must have taken a day to write this. I open it and read:

 _Dear Issac Porter:_

 _You do not know me, but I do hope to meet you. You have already met my sister, Luna, and I do hope she wasn't much trouble. She can be quite a handful at times. The purpose of this letter is to request your aid. An evil plagues the land I live in, Equestria. It has not yet shown itself, but I feel it drawing nearer. I require your assistance for this, and I will be eternally grateful if you accept._

 _Inside the package that you received, I have taken the liberty to provide a few objects that will help you_.

 _First is a backpack. If you place something inside, it will not break no matter how fragile. It also makes it seem that you are carrying less than what is in the bag._

 _Second is two small glass orbs for you to test the bag with. I promise I am not lying, but if you do not believe me you may test it yourself._

 _Third is a bag full of bits, our form of currency. Should you choose to accept, this will be sufficient until, and if you do, choose to exchange your human currency for our own. For reference, one bit is equal to one U.S. dollar._

 _Finally, there is a pendant inside with our royal crest on it. It will give you an immunity status that will protect you from many citizens and other beings who might try to harm you due to your unique appearance. In short, you will have royal protection._

 _If you choose to accept, simply put the pendent on before sleeping and we will know that you accept. If you don't wish to accept, don't put the pendant on. After you fall asleep, all memories of what has just transpired will be erased and everything will be as it seemed before Luna arrived._

 _Should you choose to our aid, I would ask that you place any belongings you wish to bring in the backpack before you leave. It will be taken with you._

 _I'm also aware of your insomnia. Inside a small bag at the bottom of the box is a pill that will make you fall asleep in a few minutes. It will work, I promise you._

 _You are the only one who can save us. I hope to hear a favorable reply._

 _Yours truly,_

 _Princess Celestia_

...What? That's all I can think of at the moment. What? Taking a moment to gather my thoughts, I ask myself a butt load of questions.

Who are they? Why do they need my help? Where is Equestria? Why do they refer to me as human? Are they not human? What evil could he stopped by one skinny teenager? Do they really expect me to believe all of this?

I look back at the package, after folding the letter up and placing it on my dresser, and pull out the items. Sure enough there is a backpack, orange in color, but otherwise normal looking, the two glass orbs, a small bad with a green pill inside, and the pendant.

The pendant is definitely interesting to say the least. Its about twice the size of a quarter and appears to be made of pure silver. The front shows the royal crest that Princess Celestia spoke of, while the back is adorned with a solitary emerald. This thing must be worth a fortune.

This has to be a prank from Hannah. She hired the lady to put on a ridiculous outfit and give me a box of junk. The pendant looks real too. Even the 'bits' look like real gold. Ha! Good one Hannah, I almost believed it for a moment, but I'll play along.

I gather up my most valuable possessions. My pot, my chew, my cigarettes, my pipe, and my Rubik's cubes and put them in a pile. They should all fit, but I'm curious about the glass orbs. I take one in my hands and walk to the kitchen trash can. Damn, these things weigh like 40 pounds! Holding it halfway from the bottom, I drop it in and it explodes into little bits. Not surprising.

I walk back to room and pick up the last orb. Opening the backpack, I aim at it and throw the orb inside, earning a satisfying... nothing? That's not right, it should have broke? I reach inside the bag and pull out a completely intact orb. What?

It must be fake glass. You almost got me again Hannah. Smiling, I take the orb to the trash can and throw it away. It shatters once it hits the bottom. Slowly, I turn back towards the trash can and look inside. It definitely broke.

That's crazy. It's not possible. I run back to my room and stuff my things inside the bag. Lifting it, I find that it weighs roughly a pound.

"What the hell! I put at least 20 pounds worth of crap in there!"

I yell loudly at no one. So either this is some really elaborate prank, this is a real request from a princess of some unknown land, or I'm high as fuck.

I haven't smoked anything, so I can't be high. No offense to Hannah, but she couldn't pull of something like this, so...

I sit back on my bed and breathe heavily. So there is a princess who wants my help? That's so messed up. At least her sister is hot though.

The only thing left is the pill and the pendant. She really needs my help? Am I really the only one that can help her? If all I have to do is put on this pendant and go to sleep, I might as well help her if I can. The only problem would be falling asleep.

Wait, she said that she gave me a pill to help me sleep. I pick up the green pill and study it for a moment. This will help me? I've tried many kinds of sleeping pills, natural remedies, even just being knocked out, but nothing helps. Well, being knocked out does, but I wake up with an insane headache so I choose not to do that.

Everything she said has been truthful this far, so she couldn't have lied about this. Shrugging, I pop the pill in my mouth and swallow. I put the pendant around my neck and lied back in bed. Not a minute later my vision starts to cloud and I become incredibly drowsy. The feeling is almost euphoric. My first restful sleep. How long I've waited for this.

I smile as the unfamiliar feeling of being pulled into a heavy sleep overwhelms me.

* * *

"Where am I?" I sit up and notice I am no longer in my bed. Or in my house. The bed I'm laying in is incredibly soft and very comfortable. The room was intricately designed and was covered in gold and silver decorum. Standing up from the bed and stretching, like one should do after enjoying their sleep, the door to the room opens, and in walks a pony... wait! A pony!

I give a double take as a snow white pony with a large crown and golden slippers walks up to me. She, I assume based on her figure, adorned a pair of wings and a large horn as well.

"Greetings Issac, I am Princess Celestia. Welcome to Equestria."

I stare at her with my mouth hanging open. The pony just talked. I, being the manly man I am, do the most sensible thing in the world. I faint.


	2. Chapter 2: New Place, New Ponies

**Disclaimer:** I don't don't own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I do however own all of the OC's in the story unless stated otherwise. I also don't own Rubik's cubes. Or Xbox.

 **AN:** Welcome back to From Sadness comes Sadness. Wow. That's all i can say. After only 7 hours of being up, this story had received it's first review, 3 favorites, and a follow. I'm so incredibly happy that I released this chapter early as a thank you! If the story seems a little far off the deep end, I apologize. It will get better as the story progresses. Please let me know what you think of the story. Constructive criticism is welcome, but don't go on and on about how much it sucks, even if it does. Enjoy! R &R!

* * *

 **Chapter** **2: New Place, New Ponies**

When I awoke, I was laying in the same bed as before, in the same room, with the same pony.

"Um... you're a pony."

"And you're a human."

"Ponies can't talk."

"Where you are from, ponies can not talk. Here in Equestria, ponies take up 80% of the worlds population, alongside dragons, griffins, and other sentient species. All of which can talk."

"Uh, okay... Who are you?"

"I am Princess Celestia. My sister Luna will join us shortly."

"Why is your sister a human?"

"She is a pony. She changed her form so she could blend in with your world."

"That sucks, her human form was hot."

Princess Celestia chuckles at me. "I'll be sure to let her know. I assume you have questions?"

"A lot."

"Very well, I will do my best to answer them." For the next twenty minutes, I basically got a crash course in the laws, knowledge, and customs of Equestria.

"So what is this evil exactly?"

"I'm afraid I do not know. It will require more than the Elements of Harmony to deal with though. It is a powerful evil."

"So how am I supposed to help?"

"Long ago, another human came to Equestria. He was unlike many of your kind. He was kind and gentle, smart and caring, and he always respected those who deserved it. He stopped another evil using a magic that humans posses, but I do not know what kind of magic it is. He left for home when the deed was done and became a legend in the eyes of pony kind. Most believe, now, that he was an alicorn, just like me and my sister. He is nicknamed Shadow Slayer. His real name is not known anymore."

Sometime in the middle of the conversation, another pony walked in and waited patiently for Princess Celestia to finish.

"Sister, has Issac accepted your offer?"

"I would hope so Luna, seeing as how he is here and all. Do you accept our request and wish to help us?"

"Uhh..." Well what was I supposed to say. No, I'd rather sit in a corner and watch you all succumb to the terrible evils of the land. "Yeah, I guess. Since I'm here, I might as well."

Princess Luna smiles in delight. "Oh this is truly splendid news! I'm happy you have agreed!" She runs at me and wraps me in a hug. Awkwardly, I pat her head until she let's go. "Now you must tell us, do you have any training in the art of combat?"

"No."

"What about magic?"

"No. The only thing I train with is my Rubik's cube."

"What is a Rubik's cube?" I look around and spot my bag with my crap in it not far off. I move over to the bag and dig around for the plain Jane 3x3.

"This is a Rubik's cube. All of its faces turn, as well as the center axis for all three directions. You mix it up and try to put all of the colors back on their own side. Since the centers never change position, you know what color goes on what side."

A golden aura wraps around the cube and it is lifted from my hand, being pulled in front of Princess Celestia. "Show us."

I take it back from her and mix it up for a few seconds. "Now try to solve it." Both princesses stare at the cube for a few minutes whispering to each other and turning a face every so often.

"It is impossible. No pony could solve this."

"I don't blame you. There are over 45 quadrillion different arrangements that the cube can be in." I look at the cube for a moment before smiling at them. "Just watch." Giving the cube a number of expert turns, in about twenty seconds the cube is solved.

"How did you do that!?"

"Practice."

"But there must be trick!"

"No tricks."

"You must have memorized how you messed it up."

"I didn't do that either."

"Then you had to have-"

"Luna, calm down. We can ask about that later, right now we need to make plans for his living situation."

"But Tia-"

"Issac thinks you are hot while in human form." I look at Princess Celestia, dumbfounded. Did she really have to say that with me in the room. Princess Luna's face lights up with a red blush, but she did stop asking questions.

"Really?"

"Yeah." Well it's not like I can lie to her now or anything. Princess Celestia sold me out.

"That is very kind of you." I don't see how, but I nod anyways, hoping to God my face isn't as red as hers.

"I do believe since you will be working with the Elements of Harmony, Ponyville would be a suitable place for you to stay. Would you like a place of your own, or would you rather live with somepony?"

"I don't mind sharing a place, but I do have a few questions."

"You may ask."

"First, is there a legal drinking age? If so, what is it? Second, what am I supposed to do about clothes? Lastly is money. How I am supposed to pay for everything?"

"There is a drinking age, but as long as you are responsible, I see no reason why you can't. You are not a pony after all. Clothes can be purchased from Rarity who also lives in Ponyville. If you have specific items in mind, I might be able to bring them from your world. As to the money problem you have, I can give you the equivalent, in bits, of what you had on Earth."

"Seems fair. Who will I be staying with?"

"Any one of the Elements. It isn't a great deal which one. Applejack or Twilight Sparkle are the most available. They have the room to accommodate another being."

"Good to know."

"If that is all, I would ask that you bring your bag with you and follow me. I will take you to the chariot that will bring you to Ponyville."

Picking up my bag, I exit the room and make my way down the halls, following Princess Celestia with Princess Luna behind me. At some point in the trek, Princess Luna moved up me beside me so we were now walking side by side.

"Issac?"

"Yes Princess?"

"No need to use my title. Just Luna is fine."

"Okay then, Luna, what did you want?"

"Did you really think... I was hot?"

I try my best not to blush at the fact she brought up. "Well yeah."

"Oh." She blushes slightly and looks away from me. "Well if you need anything else from your world, just write a list and I'll make sure my sister gets them for you."

"I will, thank you." Continuing the walk down the hallway in silence, the princesses and myself arrive in the throne room. I can tell from, well, the thrones.

"Your chariot will be arriving soon. Just make yourself comfortable until it arrives." Princess Celestia calls out to me as she takes a seat on her throne.

"Luna, could I get a pen and paper. I can make the list now since I have a few minutes." Her horn lights up and a piece of parchment, a quill, and some ink appear in front of me. "That will do." I quickly jot down a few items that wouldn't fit in my bag, or just slopped my mind.

"Here you are. Whenever is fine, don't rush yourselves in getting anything." I hand the parchment, quill, and ink back to Luna, who grands them with her magic.

"It is no trouble at all. You shall have them tonight."

"Thanks."

Princess Celestia takes the list from Luna and studies it. "You have remarkably good penponyship."

"Thanks. I draw in my free time when I can, so it kind of rubbed off on my writing skills."

"You are an artist?"

"Not really. It's more of a hobby."

Her face scrunches up at something at the list. "What is an Xbox?"

I laugh at her confusion. "It's basically a small portable box that you can play games on."

"Like an arcade?"

"Yes, but it has a controller that is separate from the console and it is much smaller."

"Console?"

"It's what the box is called."

"Ahh. Interesting. Well I have seen enough of your world to acquire all on this list."

"About the money. Can I have that transferred now?"

"Of course. How much did you have on earth."

"Not sure. Last I checked, my bank account was somewhere just north of 62."

"62 dollars?"

"No. 62,000 dollars." Their jaws fell in disbelief.

"That is quite a lot of money." Luna says while trying to close her jaw.

"Yeah. I got it after my parents died."

"I'm sorry, I-"

"Don't worry about it. It's in the past. I'm over it now."

"If you say so..."

"Ahh, the chariot has arrived." True to her words, a golden chariot pulled by four pegasi with golden armor pulls up to the gardens right outside the throne room.

"Riding in style I see." I smile at the princesses. "Will I be going alone?"

"Yes. Unfortunately, we have royal duties to attend to. We will try to stop by some time to make sure you are well adjusted to life here. Oh, and before I forget, this is your money." She conjures up a small green drawstring bag and places it in my hands. "It is enchanted just like your backpack. All of your money is in there, but it will feel like you are only carrying a couple of bits."

"Thank you again princesses. I'll be sure to pay you back somehow."

"No need for that. Your services will pay us back tenfold." I nod at them and walk over to the chariot, taking a seat inside. I wave at the princesses as the chariot takes off, on route to Ponyville.

* * *

The three hour ride was boring. Terribly terribly boring. The guards wouldn't talk. They wouldn't even acknowledge me. Basically I had a whole lot of time to think.

Hannah was on my mind the most. I really wanted to see her again, even though I had just seen her less than a day ago. I can't believe I was already home sick. Except for Hannah, Sarah, and Alex, I despised the place. Well... just Hannah and Sarah now.

Heaving a sigh I take a look at my surroundings. This world is beautiful. I should draw it up in my sketchbook. A memoir of sorts. Just something to remember this place by once I leave.

I go back to my thinking and start to fiddle with my pendant for a while. I must have lost track of time because the rest of the ride was relatively quick.

Before I knew it, I was descending into Ponyville. There were a small croup of ponies gathered in a circle, like they were waiting for me. Well this is the princesses royal chariot, I guess they thought i was one of the princesses.

Coming to a halt on the ground, I step out with my backpack slung over one shoulder and my bit pouch strapped to my belt. I uttered a word of thanks to the guards and they took off.

Turning to face the ponies, I saw that they looked at me with a mixture of fear, awe, and curiosity. Upon seeing the pendant, some of them relaxed and even sported smiles. Others, however, remained how they were.

A lavender colored unicorn pony with a dark blue mane trotted forward with a slightly mad look on her face.

"What are you? Why were you riding in the princesses chariot?" I turned to face her more directly and sheet too saw my pendant. "You have the princesses protection?"

"Yes. I assume that you are Twilight Sparkle?"

"How did you know?"

"Princess Celestia and Luna told me about you. They said to talk to you about acquiring a place to stay. I can pay you if you would like. If you don't have the room, I can simply look for another place, it's no trouble at all."

"Well if the princesses sent you here, then you're mire than welcome to stay with me. You don't have to pay me."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I do have a lot if questions though."

"Those would probably be better answered in private."

"Then let's go to my house."

"Lead the way then Ms. Sparkle." She blushes and trots away from the crowd. I follow her through the streets of Ponyville, noticing that it was not too unlike where I lived.

"Here we are." I look up and see... a tree. She lives in a tree. "Well don't just stand there, come on inside." I walk through the door and find myself in a... library. Okay, so she lives in a tree... that doubles as a library. I've seen weirder.

"It might seem strange that I live in the library. It's where I work. I actually live in the second floor." That makes sense.

"You said you have some questions for me?"

"Yes." She levitates a quill and parchment over to her and stares at me intently. "What are you?"

"Human." Her eyes grow wide.

"A human!?"

"Yes."

"I've read about your kind, but I never knew you actually existed."

"Well we do."

"What are humans like?"

"Depends. Do you want to hear their true nature, or do you want to hear what we believe ourselves to be?"

"True nature of course."

"Humans are vile beings who like nothing more than to be the best at everything. We might try to be kind and peaceful, but that is almost never the case. We start wars with other nations because we don't like the way they do things. We are prejudice against others because they don't believe the same things we do. We are evil. We are despicable. We are not worthy of being at the top of the food chain."

Twilight's eyes grew wider and her mouth opened further throughout my explanation.

"Luckily for you, I am not like that. If you respect my rights and choices, you're good in my books."

"That's interesting. I always thought humans were peaceful."

"No way in hell. The day we become peaceful will be the day we grow to be extinct because no one will be left to fight each other."

"Okay, what do you eat?"

"We are omnivorous."

"...You eat meat?"

"I don't need to, but I can."

"Oh..."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to eat you if that's what you're worried about."

"Well that's good." She smiles and then an idea pops into my head.

I give her a dull fledged smile, showing her my teeth. Then I growl in a very low voice. "No matter how tasty you look."

She freezes in her seat, and her eyes grow wide in fear. I sit back and laugh.

"That wasn't funny!"

"I'm sorry. I just couldn't help myself." I give her an innocent smile, not showing my teeth this time.

"I don't think I ever got your name."

"Issac."

"Okay then Issac, let me show you where you will be sleeping." She leads me up the stairs to what appears to be a small living area. "That room there is mine. Yours will be the one next to it. If you need anything just let me know."

"Yeah. Do you have a few outlets in the room?"

"Outlets?"

"Yeah, the things that let you use electricity."

"Humans have those!?"

"Umm... yeah? If you don't have something like that, then do you have something that produces power? Something that I can put a plug into?"

"I'm afraid not. I might be able to make you a box that can contain magic though. It would produce power, but you would have no way to draw upon that power."

"I have an idea. Once the box is finished, can you make two small incisions on it, about a quarter inch long each and about an inch apart? There should be four of them total."

"I can do that."

"Thank you Ms. Sparkle." She blushes again when I call her that.

"Just Twilight is fine. No need for the Ms. You make feel like an old mare."

"Nonsense, you can't be more than seventeen from the looks of you." She blushes again and paws the ground with her hoof.

"Well, let me know when you are done putting your stuff away. You should meet with some of my friends, I'm sure they will like you."

"No problem. I'll be down in a few minutes." She nods and trots back downstairs.

I push open the door to my new room. It's bare except for a bed and dresser. The bed is for a pony, so that will have to be fixed. I'll need something larger. Taking the bag off my shoulders, I empty the contents into the drawers and place the bag on top.

Before leaving, I grab the 2x2 cube and pocket it. Might as well have some sort of entertainment while downstairs.

Arriving in the actual library part of the library, I see Twilight at a table looking at a book. I take the seat opposite of her and start to mess with my cube.

"What is that?"

"A puzzle." Her eyes light up and she stares at the cube like it's a sandwich.

"I love puzzles!"

"I don't know about this one. Even the princesses couldn't do it."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"Well how is it solved?"

"Put all of the colors on their own side."

"That's it?"

"That's it." She takes it from me and stares at it. She moves some of the faces around with her magic before giving a look of exasperation.

"This seems impossible." I reach over and take the cube back. I hand it back eight seconds later solved.

"You were saying?"

"What! How... how did you do that?" She is obviously dumbfounded at how quickly you solved the cube.

"Practice."

"I'll get it. I'll do it myself. Mix it up again." I give her a smile and mix it up quickly.

"Here you go." She takes the cube again and starts to turn the faces. I take to just watching in amusement at just how easily she gets frustrated at the little piece of plastic.

A knock rings out from the front door. Twilight sighs before placing the cube down and trotting to answer it.

"Hey Twilight. I heard that there's a new pony in town. Have you met them yet?"

"I have met him, and he is not a pony. Come in, he's here with me right now." She opens the door and a light blue pegasus with a rainbow colored mane flies in. Upon seeing you, she stops.

"Woah. What the hay is it?"

"I'm a human. Also you may ask me of you have amy questions. I am sentient."

"Well okay. Who are you?"

"The name's Issac. I take it that your Rainbow Dash?"

She places her hooves on her hips and lifts her head into the air. "The one and only. So you've heard about me then?"

"Only from the princesses."

"You talked with the princesses?"

"Uh Dash?" Twilight points at my chest, right where the pendant was hanging. "He is basically an honorary royal family member."

Rainbow Dash's jaw drops. "That... is... so... awesome!" She squeals and flies right up to me, her face only an inch or so from mine. "So did they say anything else?"

"I'd I didn't know better, I would think that you wanted a kiss Rainbow Dash." She immediately turns red and floats away quickly, landing as she does.

"No! That's just weird. We just met."

"Okay, maybe later than." She starts to sputter causing Twilight to chuckle.

"He's just joking Rainbow. He did the same thing to me earlier."

"He said he was going to kiss you?"

"No, he said he... was going to eat me." Rainbow Dash's mouth falls open again.

"You..." I smile at her, showing my canines.

"I can eat meat. I'm an omnivore."

"Okay." Rainbow Dash seemed pretty cool about it, so I didn't say anything else. "Hey Twilight, Rarity wanted to talk to you about something too."

"Why don't you bring her over with the other girls. We can talk, and they can meet the newcomer."

"Sounds good. I'll be back in a flash." With that, she speed out the door, leaving a cloud of dust in her wake. Well it sure had proved to be an interesting day.


	3. Chapter 3: The Elements of Harmony

**Disclaimer:** I don't don't own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I do however own all of the OC's in the story unless stated otherwise. I also don't own Rubik's cubes. Or Xbox.

 **AN:** Welcome back! I plan on uploading more often than I did during my last story, so unless something unexpected comes up, expect an update every three days latest. Also, just like my last story, and most likely every one I write, I write the chapters as they come out, so any ideas you give can be implemented immediately, if I like them. That also means I don't have a few chapters stored for a rainy day. If somethinv caused me to fall behind on updates, I'll do my best to get a couple of chapters out fast, but still retain most of their quality.

I appreciate the attention this story is getting and I want to thank everyone who has read it so far. I hope you enjoy this next chapter! R&R!

 ***Edit* I need 6 OC ponies for my next story. Go to my profile page and submit yours with the correct format.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: The Elements of Harmony**

Twilight spent the time it took for the rest of the girls to get here messing with the cube. She still couldn't get it.

"I hate this thing!" She slams it down on the table and huffs in annoyance. I chuckle at her and head back up the stairs to grab my cigarettes and lighter. On my way back down, I bump into a small purple dragon.

"Hey, Spike right?"

"Morning." He seems to still be half asleep. He just gives you a wave and continues back up the stairs. Wait... how late do dragons sleep? It must nearly be three in the afternoon! I just shrug and walk back to the table Twilight was sitting at. She was trying her hoof at the cube again.

"Hey, do you mind if I smoke?"

"What?"

"Smoke."

"Humans smoke? Is it something to do with your insides?"

"No no. I mean set fire to the end of this stick and inhale the vapors through the filter. It's called smoking."

"Is the smoke like normal smoke?"

"Yes."

"Then I suppose its fine. Spike likes to burn things in his spare time with his breath, so I'm used to it by now."

"Cool." I take out a cigarette and place the pack on the table. Twilight watches me intensely the whole time. I casually click the lighter and bring it to the end of the cigarette, inhaling slightly so it burns.

Exhaling a puff of smoke, Twilight interjects, frowning at me. "Is that bad for your health?"

"Yes."

"Why do you do it then?"

"Why do you breathe?"

"We need it to sustain our bodies functions."

"Yeah, well my body has grown used to having nicotine in it. The only way I can give it nicotine is by smoking. If I don't, I could go through withdraws. I don't want to do that."

"I see... can I try?" I give her a wide eyed look. Did she really just ask me for a cigarette?

"Umm Twilight. Most people don't consider it to be, but cigarettes are technically a drug."

"Will I die or be addicted from one inhale?"

"Well, no..."

"Then let me try. I can use what I find as research material for updating human records we ponies keep. It's an experiment."

"Whatever. Don't blame me if you start hacking and coughing." I take the cigarette out of my mouth and hand it to her. She places her lips around the edge of the white stick and inhales for about two seconds. She lets out a terrible hack and proceeds to fall into a coughing fit.

"Told ya." I reach over and rub her back to ease the coughing. I was surprised to find that her coat felt like silk. It was soft and velvety, not coarse and bristly like I first imagined it to be.

"How do you manage to put that in your body?"

"Practice." She gives me a murderous look and I laugh it off.

By the time Rainbow Dash had arrived, I finished my cigarette, Twilight stopped coughing, and she solved the damn cube.

"Your time is 11 minutes and 36.2 seconds. Not bad. If you shave off eleven minutes I might consider congratulating you." She groans at my proposition. "Don't worry, there are still harder ones."

She looks up at me with fear in her eyes. "There are ones harder than this?"

"Yeah. I have a cube that is a 9x9. Also a dodecahedron called a gigaminx."

"Nine... nine... I can't do it..."

"Don't worry, you'll get better." You give her the best smile you can.

"Honestly Rainbow Dash, what is so important that I must-" The white unicorn with a violet mane stops talking. "Oh my. He is quite unique. What is your name sir?"

"Issac."

"Issac. What a different name. You are not from around here, are you?"

"No I'm not."

"Well, if you don't mind my asking, what exactly are you?"

"It would be better to wait for everyone else. That way I only have to say it once."

"Alright darling, I do suppose that's fair."

* * *

The first thing that happened was a ball of pink energy flew right up to my face and demanded to know if I was staying.

"Uh... yes, I'll be staying in Ponyville for a while?"

"Ohmygosh! I have to start the party planning right away!" The ball of punk proceeded to fly out the door.

"Um, Twilight? What was that?"

"That was Pinkie Pie. Don't worry about her, she is normally like this."

"Okay..."

A few minutes later, two more ponies joined us in the library. One was an earth pony with a light orange coat, blonde mane, and a Stetson hat. The other was a pale yellow pegasus with a light pink mane.

"Alright, now that everyone is here, I can introduce myself. I am Issac. As you can tell, I'm not exactly a pony. I'm, what you would call, a human. Anything else you want to know?"

"Yes. Where in Equestria did you find clothes to fit like that?" Rarity, the fashion pony from what Princess Celestia told me, was looking at your clothes intriguingly.

"I bought them at a store. These particular clothes were made to hug my body. The shirt is just a normal shirt, but the pants are called skinny jeans. They are supposed to be tight."

"Are they comfortable?"

"Some people don't think they are, but I find them to be very comfortable."

"Where exactly did ya come from?" This time Applejack, the farm pony, asks you.

"I'm... I don't know if I'm actually allowed to say. Let's just say I come from a place so far away that you wouldn't be able to reach it in your lifetime."

"So where's your cutie mark?"

"What's a cutie mark?" Rainbow Dash looked at me weirdly and then pointed to the tattoo on her flank.

"This is. You get it when you discover your species talent."

"Humans don't get cutie marks. We can put symbols like that on our body. It's called a tattoo."

"Why don't you get cutie marks?"

"I don't know. Humans tend to do whatever interests them. They might have many talents or none. We don't have a mark that specifically designates a talent."

"So those... tattoos?"

"Yes?"

"Do you have any?"

"I have two. One on my back of a quote. The other on my shoulder. It's a rise with my real last name in it."

"Can we see them?"

"I don't see why not." I stand up from my seat and pull of my shirt. I turn around so they can get a look at the quote.

"Do these words mean something to you?" Rarity was surprising curious. I was expecting another question from Twilight.

"Yes. They are lyrics to a song. To me they say even though I don't show my emotions very often, I still care and I still hurt. I have the marks to prove it, so don't tell me that I don't care. Sometimes the only way to feel is to be hurt."

"That... that was deep." Rainbow Dash pokes the words. "So you have marks to prove that you care?"

"Yes."

"Can you show them?"

"You have to promise not to scream, yell at me, or I'm anyway tell me what I did was stupid." I turn around and hold out my arms, palms upward. "They have mostly faded, but you can still see them."

The ponies gather around and look at the horizontal lines on my forearms.

"What are they? They don't look like a tattoo."

"They are scars from cuts."

"How did you get cut?"

"Like this." I reach into my pocket and pull of my pocket knife. I open it and draw the blade quickly across my forearm earning a gasp from all of the ponies present.

"You just cut yourself! Why would you do that!?" Twilight cries out to me. The yellow pony, Fluttershy, rushes over to me, and for the first time today, speaks.

"Why would you do that? Now your hurt. I'll get some bandages." She flies up the stairs and retrieves a first aid kit.

She tends to the cut and Applejack looks at my shoulder. "Yer last name is Minx?"

"My real last name is, yes."

"What do y'all mean by real last name?"

"It's my parents last name, the one I was given at birth. They died when I was five, so my last name changed when my aunt adopted me."

"Ahm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine."

"But yet parents died!"

"Yeah."

"So how can y'all be so calm 'bout it?"

"Because I could always cut myself when I was sad. It's easier to deal with physical pain than emotional pain, so I made physical pain for me to deal with."

"But don't it hurt?"

"That's the point." The ponies fall silent and I let Fluttershy finish bandaging my arm. "Thank you Fluttershy, although I really just needed a cloth to wipe up the blood. I don't want to spill on the floor."

"It's a-alright. I-I take care o-of a-animals so I c-couldn't let you s-stay like that." Her voice trails off to just more than a whisper and she backs away, hiding behind her mane.

"Is that all of the questions you have?"

"I think we are good for now." Twilight looks at all of the other ponies and they nod in response.

"Oh Rarity, I have something to ask you. Could you stay for another minute?"

"Why of course dear!" She happily takes a seat again while the other ponies, except for Twilight, file out the door and give their goodbyes.

"Now dear, what is it I can do for you?"

"Um... Twilight? Could you leave is alone for just a minute? I'd like to talk to Rarity privately."

"Sure." She trots off upstairs while Rarity gives me a confused look.

"Why the need for privacy Issac."

"Okay. I find you to be... the most sensible of your group. Nothing against the others, they are all very nice, but I think you are the most level headed, other than Twilight. I don't really want to burden her seeing as how she is letting me stay here for free, so I was hoping that you would let me come to you if I had any problems adjusting to Ponyville, or if I just needed someone- sorry, somepony to talk to."

Rarity looks as though she was hit in the face. "Why dear, I would be honored to help you in any way I can! I'm very surprised you asked me for this and not Twilight, but I'm more than happy to accept!"

She gives me a big smile that I return gratefully. "Oh and I noticed you had taken an interest in my clothes. The princesses plan on retrieving more of my stiff from home for me, which will include clothing, but if you would like, I can give you a pair of my pants and a shirt so you can make me some more clothes. I'll only be able to wear the same things for so long."

"Oh darling, that would be magnificent! Making clothes for somepony that's, well, not a pony would be a challenge, but it would boost my popularity as a designer and I might even get orders from outside Equestria!"

"I can pay you for the clothes. I have plenty of money... which actually brings up a question I've had for a little while. How much money do you have to make to be considered rich in Equestria?"

"Most ponies here make and average of 5,000 to 7,000 bits a year. If you were to be rich, like a high class jewelry store owner up in Canterlot, you would make around 18,000 bits a year. Why do you ask? Are you concerned about money?"

"Not anymore." My face broke it's usual monotonous stare and I was gazing at the ground in disbelief. Holy crap am I rich here!

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I had my form of currency transferred to bits, and I wasn't actually sure if what I had was considered a lot. The princesses were shocked at the amount, but I just brushed it off."

"Well, if you don't mind me prying, how much did you get from the transfer?"

"62,000 bits." Her eyes flew open and her mouth fell far as she stared at me in disbelief.

"I say! That is a lot of money. That's about how much I've made in the past eight years!"

"Like I said, I'll pay for the clothes. I know you are the element of generosity, but I would feel like I'm robbing you if I didn't give you something."

"No no dear! I insist you take them free of charge. You are new here and it's my way of saying welcome."

"Rarity..."

"No. You will take them and that's final." She humfs and stomps her hoof on the ground. I throw my hands up in the air I'm surrender.

"Okay okay, you win." She smiles and turns to leave. "Rarity?"

"Yes deary?"

"Before you leave I want to give you something."

"Oh you didn't have to do that."

"Just close your eyes." She does as she is told and I find a medium sized bag. I open up my green pouch and withdraw about two hundred bits. I place them I'm the other bag, tie it shut, and place it on front of her.

"You can open your eyes now." She opens her eyes and looks down at the bag, eyes furrowed.

"What is it?"

"Bits. I know it will be hard to make clothes for me, and I won't be able to model 24/7. I figured you used a... ponyquin... to make clothes for ponies. You'll need one that is my build to test the clothes. I didn't want you to pay for it out of your own pocket so since the clothes are for me, I'll pay for it."

"Darling... you didn't need to-"

"I know." She looks up at me with years I'm her eyes.

"You are so very kind. I don't know how I can repay you for this." She grasps me around the middle and hugs me tightly, shocking myself to no end.

"Just don't make me anything gaudy." She laughs and pulls away, wiping her tears from her face.

"Thank you Issac."

"No, thank you Rarity." She smiles yet again and leaves you alone in the library.

"Are you two finished talking- oh she left." Twilight turns her attention to me. "What did you talk about?"

"Nothing."

"What? What were you doing if not talking?"

"Making out." I casually throw the words at her and grab my cigarettes for another smoke, leaving Twilight to turn very red and back up the stairs slowly.

"Just kidding Twilight!" I call up the stairs. She trots back down momentarily looking very relieved.

"I knew you had to be joking, there is no way Rarity-"

"Making out was probably the one thing we didn't do. Good thing she put up a sound barrier." Twilight looks at me, then promptly faints. I give her a look before returning to my cigarette. Priorities, you know?

* * *

"Ahh, so you're finally awake." I look down at the lavender unicorn as she stirs from her unsnatural sleep.

"What happened?" She grumbles and asks as she gets to her hooves.

"Nothing important, you just fainted. I have a question."

"What is that?"

"Can I decorate my room?"

"As long as it is nothing permanent, I see no reason why not."

"Cool. I have some things arriving from the princesses that I will be unpacking later. Anyways, until then I was hoping you could show me around Ponyville. I'm going to be here a while so I figured I might as well get to know the place."

"Sure, just let me get ready." Twilight walks away and trots up stairs, doing whatever it is ponies do to get ready. After a few minutes, she trots back downstairs, mane fixed and saddlebag on her back.

"Let's go. We can start with Ponyville Square. It's the largest part of town and it's also where most merchants sell goods."

"Sounds like a plan." I follow her to the door and out into the cool afternoon air. It sure was nice here. Sticking to her side, I walk down the streets of Ponyville, earning the occasional smile from the other residents. I return them with a small wave and a nod of my head.

"You don't smile a lot, do you?"

"I try not to."

"Why?"

"If people can't see my emotions, than I have nothing for them to use against me."

"What do you mean?"

"If you cry, somepony might make fun of you for crying. If I'm sad, I don't cry."

"I think I understand, but that doesn't sound very healthy to keep all of your emotions bottled up like that."

"Hence the cutting."

"That's still not a good thing to do to yourself."

"I know."

"Well anyways, we're here. This is Ponyville Square." Looking around, I see a vast array of stalls and stands selling an assortment of items. I spot Applejack at a stand not too far away.

"Why is Applejack here?"

"Oh, she sells apples from her farm, Sweet Apple Acres. Just a way to bring in some extra bits for the farm.

"Can we go talk to her?"

"Yeah, come on." Twilight approaches Applejack with myself not too far behind.

"Hey Applejack!" Twilight calls out to her friend when she is close enough for her to hear.

Applejack smiles and waves a hoof at us. "Howdy sugar cube. What brings y'all round these parts?"

"I was just showing Issac around Ponyville a d we saw you over here. So we decided to drop in for a quick visit."

"Alright by me. Say Issac, have you ever had one of my family's apples?"

"No."

"Would y'all care to try one?"

"I don't like apples." The silence was deafening. Twilight and Applejack looked at me with their mouths open. Some of the surrounding ponies moved away quickly, like they are afraid there as going to be a fight.

"That's a good one Issac." Applejack chuckles to herself. Upon seeing that expression hasn't changed, she looks at me with a sad look. "Y'all really don't like apples?"

"No."

"But why don't ya?"

"They taste terrible." Again, I was hit with a wave of silence. Applejack's look transformed for one of sorrow to one of anger.

"They taste terrible? I show y'all that they taste terrible!" She grabbed an apple and pounced on me trying to force it into my mouth.

"Applejack! Get off of him!" Twilight cried out from the side, looking incredibly worried and slightly angry.

I pushed Applejack off of me and into her stand knocking it over. I stood up and pulled my knife out of my pocket and flicked it open. She looked at me, ready to pounce again until she saw the blade. Her eyes grew wide with fear and she backed up as quickly as she could.

I walk up to her. I put my knife away and take her hat. "Don't do that again. Here, this is for breaking the stand. I apologize for ruining it." I drop a few bits into the hat and place it on the ground next to her. I turn around and walk back towards the library. I've had enough Ponyville for one day.

* * *

"What were you thinking! You threatened Applejack with a knife!"

"She asked for it. It was incredibly rude to try and make me eat an apple by forcing it down my throat." We, Twilight and myself, had made it back to the library.

"I know, and that was wrong of her, but you can just threaten her like you did."

"I didn't threaten her."

"Excuse me?"

"I said I didn't threaten her. I pulled out a knife, yes. I scared her with it, yes. Not once though did I actually threaten her. I couldn't have harmed her if I wanted to. I'm just not like that."

"Then why involve the knife in the first place."

"She wouldn't have stopped otherwise."

"I still don't like what you did, but at least you're both alright. That was very kind of you to pay for the stand as well."

"Well, technically speaking, I broke it."

"Very well... I'm going to lay down for a bit. Today has been crazy."

"Okay." She leaves you alone in the library. I am content with being alone until a flash appears in the library. Blinded for a moment, I wait until mg vision comes back before seeing Princess Celestia standing before me with a few boxes. She doesn't look happy though.

"Issac."

"Yes Princess?"

"We need to talk."

"Of course Princess. I'm assuming about the incident earlier with Applejack?"

"Correct."

"Before you condemn me to life in prison or whatever, let me explain what happened."


	4. Chapter 4: Opening Up

**Disclaimer:** I don't don't own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I do however own all of the OC's in the story unless stated otherwise. I also don't own Rubik's cubes. Or Xbox.

 **AN:** Hello readers! Not much to say this time except I still need OC's for my next MLP fanfic. The format for entries are in chapter 3. Yes the element they represent is needed. It has to do with the plot. Without giving away anything, I can say that the Elements wont work for certain reasons. The Element must be one of the six! Not a made up one. Enjoy! R &R!

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Opening Up**

"Look, I know what I did was incredibly stupid, and yes, I know I can probably be thrown in prison for it, but I only did what was necessary."

"Why, pray tell, was is necessary for you to threaten one of my little ponies?"

"You see, Princess, it was like this. Twilight was leading me around Ponyville..." I proceeded to tell Princess Celestia all that happened, from the initial wave hello, all the way to me walking away after giving her the bits to fix her stand.

"I appreciate you diffusing the situation before it got too out of hoof... but I can not ignore what you did."

"Then I accept any punishment you give me." The Princess's eyes grew wide with shock. Apparently, many ponies beg for forgiveness or plead for mercy. Yet here I am, basically asking for my punishment.

"Very well. I ask that you go fix Applejack's stand yourself. Also, apologize for what you did. I really don't want you to do something like this again. I'll be forced to deal out a harsher punishment and I need you to help protect Equestria."

"I'm not the greatest builder, but I'll do my best."

"One more thing. Give one of her apples a try? They are quite unlike the apples from Earth."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I'm severely allergic to apples. Even a lick could cause my throat to swell up so bad I would die from suffocation. It's just easier to say I don't like them."

"I see. Then an apology and fixing the stand will suffice."

"Will do ma'am." I give her a mock salute and she chuckles.

"Humans. You creatures never cease to amaze me." With that she disappears in a flash of light. Luckily I covered my eyes this time, avoiding temporary blindness.

* * *

Exiting the hardware store, quite a convenient place I might add, I have the necessary supplies to build her a brand new stand. Of course, they were all placed in my backpack, so it felt like I was carrying nothing. The pieces of wood protruding from the bag were quote annoying though. After this, I plan to come back and pick up some art supplies I found and draw some of the scenery. It was quite a beautiful place after all.

On my way to Sweet Apple Acres, Twilight gave me directions, I found a young pony, a filly, who was being bullied by some other children.

"Hey, what do you think your doing!?" I yelled at the group, causing some heads to turn.

"What do you care... you..." The bully that was yelling at me, upon seeing who I was, gulped nervously and slowly started to back away.

"You apologize to her right now!" The three bullies apologized quickly and ran off, leaving the poor filly shaking.

"Hey, are you alright?" I approached her slowly and got down on my knees so o would appear as intimidating. "It's okay now, they're gone."

"Thank you mister..."

"Oh don't call me mister, I feel old when you do that. My name is Issac, what's your name?"

"...Shining Star..." She says this in a hushed voice, not unlike Fluttershy.

"That's a pretty name. Well, Shining Star, how about I-"

"Get away from her!" I look up to see a light blue pony running at me, her face fill of anger. "I said get away!"

I moved away from the filly. This must be her mom. "How dare you! How dare you scare her like that!"

"Ma'am I-"

"Go away!"

"Yes ma'am." I turn to leave before things got out of hand, when all of a sudden, Shining Star speaks up.

"Mommy, he isn't bad. He protected me from bullies. They were picking on me and he chased them away."

Her mom looks up at me with regret in her eyes. "Is that true? You helped my daughter?"

"I don't like it when somepony gets picked on. I had friends who were bullied when they were young... they... well they aren't alive anymore. I couldn't just sit by why she was bullied too."

"I'm sorry I snapped-"

"It's okay. A mothers instinct. I'm just happy that she has caring parents." I dig in my bag and pull out a few bits. "Here." I hand them to Shining Star. "I think you deserve an ice cream after being so brave." I smile and ruffle her mane a bit.

"Oh I couldn't accept these from you." Her mother tries to give them back, but I turn to continue walking.

"I don't know what your talking about. I saw you pick them off the ground." I turn my head back and see her mom smiling, and Shining Star hoping around going 'Ice cream! Ice cream!' I turn my head back and walk away. Maybe Ponyville wasn't such a bad place after all.

* * *

Seeing Sweet Apple Acres up close made me a little bit uneasy. That was a lot of apples. Just being near them was uncomfortable.

Fixing, or in this case, building a new stand shouldn't take too long so I'll make the best of it. Hopefully Applejack let's me stay long enough to make the new stand and doesn't hate me enough to kick me out.

The house looked very country like. I'm other words, homey, cozy, and a pleasant atmosphere. I knocked on the door and a little filly with a light yellow coat, red mane, and a red bow answers the door. She looks at my feet and her eyes grow wider as she reaches my face.

"Uh, what can I do for y'all?"

"I'm here to see Applejack."

"She's not in the best of moods right now. Can y'all come back another time?"

"That won't be necessary. Princess Celestia asked me to fix Applejack's stand. I was the one who broke it earlier today, so I bought enough materials to build a new one. Can you show me where the old one is at? That way I have an idea for where to start."

"I suppose so. If the Princess sent y'all her ta fix it, it'll be alright I show you where it's at." She takes me to the barn where the broken stall lay in pieces.

"Thank you..."

"My names Applebloom. I'm Applejack's younger sister."

"Thank you Applebloom. Can you do me a favor?"

"What's the favor?"

"Don't tell Applejack what I'm doing. I'll knock on the door again when I'm finished. She is probably mad at me, so I don't want her to kick me out before it gets done."

"Okay, I can do that. Nice meetin' you mister..."

"Issac. Just Issac is fine."

"Okay Issac. I'll keep my sister away while y'all make a new stand." I nod gratefully and turn to my work. I throw my bag on the ground and empty the contents. Okay, maybe it will take longer than expected.

* * *

My shirt was forsaken long ago and I had changed into a pair of shorts that I brought along. Thank God I thought to bring them, and lucky for me nopony walked on while I changed into my shorts.

It wasn't as hard to build the stand as I thought, but it sure was tough work. For a seventeen year old who doesn't get enough sun, it felt like hell. I was just putting the finishing touches on the sign, I bought some paint along with the other supplies, when low and behold, Applejack walks into the barn. When she sees me, she tenses up and backs away.

"What are y'all doin' here?"

"Building you a new stall." I didn't even look away from my work.

"Why?"

"As a way of apologizing. I really didn't meant to break your old stall, or scare you with my knife. I didn't want a real fight to break out. That would have made me an outcast, and I've barely been here half a day."

"Y'all don't need to build me another stall. I got the stuff to fix ma old one." As if on cue the bigger half of the old stall falls apart.

"Okay, I reckon I could use a new stall, but I don't have the money to pay y'all for the new one."

"I'm doing it for free. You don't have to pay me. If you did, of wouldn't really be a way of apologizing. It's finished." I step away to admire the finished product and Applejack comes over to view as well.

"That's incredible! It ten times better than ma old one." Her new stall looked basically the same as before, only with a sign above it reading 'Sweet Apples from Sweet Apple Acres' with a few apples painted around it.

"It's not bad. Not my best work, but it's satisfactory."

"Not bad! It's amazin'!"

"Applejack... I really am sorry that I broke your stand and that I scared you. I hope that this at least makes up for some of it."

"Issac, I was so mad when y'all said ya didn't like apples. Apples are my life, so I felt like y'all were saying ya didn't like me-:"

"What if I did like you?" Her face flushed scarlet and she took a few steps away.

"Well t-then I-I... Ya w-wouldn't..."

I chuckle at the nervous cowpony. "Calm down Applejack. I meant as a friend."

"Whew! I thought y'all meant as... well... ya know..."

"What if I did?"

"Did what?"

"Like you as more than a friend."

"I-I..."

"What if I loved you Applejack? What of I said I loved you right now? What would you do?"

Applejack lays down and covers her face with her hat in embarrassment. I kneel down and lift the hat.

"Applejack, I love you..." Her eyes grow wide and she turns an even deeper shade of red, now resembling a brick.

"Issac... I..."

"...As a friend." She looks up at me and I'm smiling widely.

"Don't do that ta me!" She swipes her hat back.

"Don't get me wrong, you are very pretty for a pony, but I have another girl that I like."

She blushes slightly at my comment. "Ya have another girl ya like?"

"Yeah." I heave a deep sigh. "Her name is Hannah. When my aunt kicked me out of her house, Hannah and her family took me in. They never asked for anything I'm return. Hannah was my best friend, such so that I could say that I love her."

"Ya love her?"

"With all my heart... but she doesn't feel the same way. She doesn't love me back."

"I'm sorry-"

"Don't be. It's not your fault. We are still friends and I still saw her everyday."

"Don't that make you hurt?"

"Every time I see her. My heart hurts every time... but I'd rather see her everyday and know I can't be with her than never see her at all. It's always so hard to try and deal with it. With the hurt. I doubt I'll ever love anyone like I love Hannah. I seriously doubt I'll ever love anyone again. Even if it means watching her marry someone else, grow old together with them, and enjoy each others company, I can be happy knowing that she had a good life. She deserves it. I know I never did."

"What do y'all mean? Everypony deserves a good life."

"I don't. I've done terrible things, both to myself and other people. I never showed any of the other girls this, but this is my curse." I point to my left calf where there is another tattoo.

"Who are they?"

"That is the list... the list of people who have died that meant something to me. I never want to forget them. I put their names here so they will live on with me."

"There are so many..."

"Yeah, I need to add another one to the list. My friend, Alex, killed himself this morning, so I haven't had the chance to get his name placed there."

"Why are there letters next to the names?"

"They represent how they died. S is for Suicide. A is for accident. N is for natural causes."

"What's the M for?"

"... Murdered."

"Your friend was murdered!?"

"...Yeah... she was in a convenience store when it was held up. The guys robbing the place found her trying to call the cops... so they stopped her by killing her."

I turn to see Applejack crying softly. Alarmed, I quickly pull her closer to me and pat her back.

"Hey it's okay."

"No it's not! Ahm sittin' here throwin' a tantrum 'bout a broken stall like a filly, ad y'all have had it much worse than I have, and y'all just acts so mature. Ah feel like a foal."

"Applejack, look at me." She looks up at me, her eyes glistening with tears. "Just because I don't show it, doesn't mean I don't feel, that I don't hurt."

"Just like what your tattoo means?"

"Exactly. I still have feelings, I just don't want other ponies poking around in my business if I look sad or angry."

"Then y'all deal with it by yerself?"

"I do because I can. Not everyone, or everypony, can do that. If you can't... then it's okay to cry." Her lips tremble and she sniffs a bit before training her crying. I pull her into my chest and rub her back in a comforting manner. "Just let it out. It's alright."

She cries for a few more minutes before pulling away from my grip and wiping her face.

"Ahm sorry 'bout that."

"It's alright."

"Ah appreciate ya opening up and talkin' ta me, and lettin' me cry..."

"No problem. Since I finished though, I should head back to Twilight's. I want to get started on my drawings, and one of the sunset would be a wonderful way to start."

"You draw nature?"

"Well not just nature. I can draw just about anything as long as you give me a generic idea of what you want."

She pawed at the ground nervously with one of her hooves. "Could... could ya draw a pony?"

"Sure."

"Uh, could ya draw... me?"

I give her a look of confusion. "It's just y'all drew the apples so lifelike and Ah was wonderin' if ya could do the same thing by drawin' a pony."

"Are you free now?"

"Ya mean right now?"

"Yeah. I can draw you now if you want. It would be better to do this at Twilight's since my art supplies are there."

"Ah don't want ta trouble y'all..."

"It's no trouble at all. I'll be glad to."

"Are ya sure?"

I grab her hoof and start to drag her out of the barn. "Come on already."

"Wait! Ah need ta let my brother and sister know that I'll be gone fer a while."

I sigh and let go of her hoof. "Okay. I'll go ahead and get everything set up. Come over when you're ready."

"Okay." She walks around the corner and into her house. I pick up my empty bag and jog home. Might as well get the exercise.

* * *

"Twilight? Where did the boxes go?" Twilight was organizing some of the books when I walked in, only to find my stuff had disappeared.

"I put them in your room. They had your name on them, so I figured they were the things you talked about before."

"Oh, thanks. Saves me the trouble of having to move them myself. By the way, Applejack should be here in a few minutes."

Twilight looks at you worriedly. "Is she coming to fight about the stand?"

"No, she's not mad anymore. We made up. She is coming over so I can draw her."

"You are an artist?"

"Not particularly. It's just something I like to do in my free time."

I walk up stairs to my room and find my boxes neatly stacked on the corner. Opening the first one, I did around until I find what I'm looking for. I pull out my sketchpad, my graphite pencils, my colored pencils and a small stand for the sketchpad. A knock sounds out from the door and I travel back downstairs to greet Applejack.

"Hey Applejack. I'm just finishing my set up now."

"Alright. Ahm gonna sit with Twi until yer ready."

"No problem." I set the stand up near one of the tables and place my sketchbook on the stand, turned to a blank page. I place all of the pencils on the table next to me and pull up a chair. Taking a seat, I call Applejack over.

"I'm ready. This will take a while, so make sure your comfortable." She takes a seat in front of me." Have you ever done something like this before?"

"Can't say that ah have."

"Okay." I stand up and move her so she is no longer facing me directly. I tilt her head up a bit and take her hat.

"Hey! That's ma hat!"

"You look better without it, so I'm goin to draw you without it. Are you comfortable like that?"

"Yeah. I'd still like my hat back though."

I stick my tongue out at her and blow a raspberry causing her and Twilight to giggle. Once their giggling stops, I start my picture.

Twilight moved over behind me to watch progress, occasionally making a comment or asking a question. At one point, she left for the kitchen to make herself a snack. When she returned, she nearly dropped her sandwich at seeing the drawing.

"Wow! It looks just like AJ! How did you do that so quickly!?"

"When the base outline is done and I have put down a rough estimate if the shading and her features, it is just a matter of coloring." I had started to color Applejack when another knock came from the door.

Twilight answered and all of the ponies I met earlier walked inside. Twilight hushed them and beckoned them to follow her. She led the behind me so they could see the drawing. The results were... unexpected.

Pinkie Pie just stared at it like it was a cookie. Rarity gasped and fainted. Fluttershy whispered good job. Rainbow Dash said cool. All in all, I enjoyed the complements, even if Pinkie Pie's staring was... unnerving.

Twenty minutes later I finished coloring Applejack's ear and proclaimed the drawing finished. Everypony stared with awe and surprise in their faces. Applejack trotted over and retrieved her Stetson before looking at the finished product. She gasped audibly.

"That's so lifelike! Ah look better in the drawin' then ah do right now."

"Well I'm glad you like it because it's yours."

"Beg pardon?"

"You can have it."

"Ah couldn't take this."

"Applejack."

"Okay, I'll take it. Geez, yer so dang pushy." I chuckle and rip the page out of my book, handing it to her.

"So why is everypony here?" Twilight spoke up. "I didn't think you would all come here together unless it was important."

"Yeah, we almost forgot. Princess Luna sent us all letters tell us to come to the library and wait for her arrival. So here we are." Rainbow Dash gestures to the library.

"What? Why did I never receive a letter?"

"Because you were already here Twilight Sparkle." A flash emanates from the center of the room and Luna stands before us.

"Princess!" The ponies all bow to Luna. I just wave at her.

"Hey Luna, how's it been?"

"Decent. Nothing to brag about, that is, until recently. It seems to be here earlier than expected. Are you ready Issac?" The ponies all give me and the Princess a confused look, not knowing of our previous conversation. I knew what this was about.

"Of course." The darkness had arrived.


	5. Chapter 5: Origins Revealed

**Disclaimer:** I don't don't own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I do however own all of the OC's in the story unless stated otherwise. I also don't own Rubik's cubes. Or Xbox.

 **AN:** I still need 5 OC ponies for my next story! Please submit one using the format on my profile. This story is getting so much more attention than my first one, I'm so happy! Please leave a review and tell me what you think. R &R!

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 **Chapter 5: Origins Revealed**

 **-Earth, Hannah POV-**

"What do you mean he is gone!" Sarah exclaims loudly after I try to tell her about Issac leaving.

"Just like I said. I went back to his house to ask him if he wanted to go on our little trip we planned. When I got there, the door was unlocked. Issac can be paranoid, so at first I thought that someone had broken in. rushed inside and found most of his belongings gone. There was also this." I hand her a piece of paper with very ornate writing on it.

She grabs it and reads it out loud.

 _To Issac Porter's friends:_

 _I am terribly sorry about the absence of your friend Issac. He was given a task by myself to help protect the land of Equestria. He accepted and is now residing in my kingdom. The task is very dangerous and could potentially be fatal. He was made aware of the risks and took it upon himself to help us regardless._

 _The task can not be told through mere paper and ink. It could fall into the wrong hands. Should he live, he will return, that I can promise you. I can not, however, promise that he will return. Perhaps it will be better to explain what Issac is. I left another letter with this one detailing his origins._

 _Hannah and Sarah, please do not worry yourselves over Issac. I assure you he is in good hands. I do hope that he can return to you after the task is complete. I truly hope he can._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Princess Celestia_

Sarah just stared at the letter when she finished, lost for words.

"So he is in another place?"

"Apparently."

"Helping a princess?"

"According to the letter."

"And he might... die?"

"I... I don't want to think that he could."

"How do we know that this isn't just a kidnapping?"

"We don't." Sarah roars in frustration. "But that's not the interesting part. This is." I hand her the other letter. She reads this aloud as well.

 _Long ago, before Earth existed, there lived a king. This king was the greatest of all kings. He was loved by all. He had a great heart, a caring hand, and such a fiery passion to do good that not even an ocean could put out the flame._

 _His name was Kelux._

 _King Kelux was the ruler of all the cosmos. He could create and destroy at the snap of his fingers. Never once did he use his powers for evil. That is, until another man poisoned King Kelux's mind. This man had no name. He was a shadow in the night. A whisper in the breeze. The monster that lurked around the corner._

 _He was only known as Silence._

 _He used an evil magic, one so old it was lost many millennia before I was even born. This magic corrupted the King's mind and made him do unspeakable things. He tortured his subjects. Killed his loved ones._

 _My father, Prince Dusk at the time, knew what Silence had done. He vowed revenge for destroying the King and his kingdom. He gathered many followers and marched upon the Eternal Palace. He fought long and hard against the King. During the battle the king managed to regain his senses for a moment and told my father that the only way to defeat Silence is to kill him_.

 _Silence took over the kings mind completely and with a heavy heart, my father struck a fatal blow upon the King. King Kelux died with a smile on his face. Unnoticed by all present, Silence pull away at the last moment and barely escaped with his life. This happened nearly twenty thousand years ago._

 _This is where Issac comes in. He is not human. At least, not a full blooded human. His mother was a human, but his father is one of Lord Kelux's sons, Zachim. Zachim is a pure blooded Eternal. They are a race of being whose lifespan is infinite. They have always existed and they will always exist._

 _Zach, that is his human name, did not die of cancer. He had outlived his usefulness to your world and parted with it. He was incredibly torn inside to do so. The loss of his wife, Isabel, was terrible._

 _However, never has an Eternal had an offspring with a mortal before. Issac is the first. He is the only one who can stop Silence. He has powers he does not know of yet. Those powers will be awakened as the darkness grows nearer._

 _This is the account of the Eternals. It must be kept a secret at all times. If you speak of this to anyone, the consequences will be death._

"So now I'm supposed to believe that Issac is like half god or something!"

"I don't know Sarah. I really don't, but wherever he is... I hope he is alright."

 **-Equestria, Issac POV-**

"Princess, what do you mean? What should Issac be ready for?" Twilight questions the Princess and myself for being secretive.

"I'm not ready to let them know where I'm from exactly, so let's not mention that yet."

"Understood. I believe it would be wise to keep this from them for now." Luna agrees leaving the other ponies confused.

"I thought you already told us where you are from?"

"I did. I told you the truth, it is immensely far away and you will never reach it in your lifetime. The exact location... will remain a secret."

"But why!?"

"Twilight, you don't need to know everything. Besides, I will tell you all, when the time is right."

Luna grabs the attention of everyone with a stomp of her hoof.

"Listen ponies! What I am about to say is important. There can be no interruptions and you must pay attention." All of us quiet down and listen to what the Princess has to say.

"Good. Now Issac is already aware, but there is a darkness coming to Equestria. One that has never before been seen in these lands. Issac was brought here to help defend Equestria. He is the only one who can stop the darkness from engulfing the entire world. Even my sister and I can not stop it. He will need your help ponies. Teach him the meaning of honesty, kindness, laughter, generosity, loyalty, and magic. If you show him the way, the darkness will not prevail. Fail to do so... and Equestria will be reduced to ash. Do not fail, ponies."

With that, there is another flash of light and Luna disappeared. All of the ponies turn to stare at me.

"Twilight, can you come here for a moment?"

"Uh, sure?" She walks over to me at sits down. I start to pet the fur on her back.

"Issac, what are you doing?"

"I'm petting you."

"Why?"

"I want to." She looks at her friends with a 'help me' look. They all give a 'you are on your own' glance and leave.

"See y'all later now."

"Yes darlings, goodbye."

"Party!"

"I've got some tricks to practice."

"Umm... bye."

They all exit the library, leaving Twilight sitting next to me while I pet her. This went on for five minutes before Twilight said something.

"This feels really good actually."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's almost like getting a massage."

"Funny. I never really thought about it like that."

"Twilight! Twilight!"

Spike comes running into the room yelling about something causing Twilight to tense up really bad.

"What is it Spike?"

"It's a letter from Princess Celestia! It's urgent."

"The Princess!? Let me have it." He hands over the letter. Twilight, seemingly irritated about the interruption, reads it.

"She wants me to come to Canterlot tomorrow? And bring Issac?"

"I'm free. What should I bring?" She glares at me before turning back to the letter.

"She wants to talk about something important, but the letter doesn't say what."

"Probably because it's important." I receive another glare. "Whatever the case, we will need our rest for tomorrow. I have a feeling that it will be a long day."

"You're right. We should be well rested for tomorrow. I'm going to bed, I can pack in the morning. Goodnight Spike. Goodnight Issac." She trots away upstairs to her room.

"Goodnight Twilight." We both respond at the same time. I give a loud yawn, just now realizing how tired I was, and make my way up to my room.

This was weird. I shouldn't be tired, I should be wide awake. Maybe the pills effects last longer than a day. I shove the questions out of my mind and drift into a blissful sleep.

 **-Issac's Dream-**

Not cool at all. I was supposed to be resting and recharging my internal batteries, but instead I was thrown into a demonic wasteland that reminds me of Hell.

"Where the hell am I?"

"This is my home... Issac Minx."

The voice is sharp and cold and sent shivers down my spine. I turn around looking for the owner of the voice.

"Who are you?"

"I..." a shadow materializes in front of you. It has a pony like form. "... have no name."

"What should I call you then?"

"Silence." His eyes flash a deep red before returning to their normal glowing state.

"Why am I here?"

"You are a half human, half Eternal, the likes of which has never been seen before. You posses the ability to destroy and create, just like your grandfather."

"What do you mean?"

"You have two weeks until I'm back to full strength. Prepare yourself. I want to see the might of Lord Zachim's kin, not the petty tricks of a child."

"What? Who is Lord Zachim? What about my grandfather?"

"I look forward to our battle." A bright flash of light appears, then everything grows dark.

* * *

"Issac!" I awake with a start and see Twilight yelling at me with a concerned look on her face. "Thank Celestia! You were thrashing around in your sleep and I couldn't wake you up. Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I'm fine now." I swing my legs over the side of the bed. I realize now that I'm covered in sweat.

"It's nearly time to leave. The train leaves in an hour."

"Okay, I'll be down in a few minutes. I need to shower first."

"The bathroom is across from your room. Just be ready in half an hour so we can get to the train station in time. The girls will be there as well."

I nod and grab a change of clothes before making my way to the bathroom for a much needed shower.

Finishing quickly, I grab my magically enhanced backpack and throw a few items in it. I guess no Xbox today.

After I'm dressed, my backpack is secure, and my hair is combed, (you have to look nice for impending doom) I make my way downstairs and find Twilight and Spike sitting and waiting for me.

"I'm ready."

"Good. Let's go meet up with the girls." We leave the library and make for the train station.

On the way, I encounter the same filly that I had protected before, Shining Star.

"Issac!" She yells and runs at me, a giant smile on her face.

"Hey Shining Star, how's it been? Any more bullies?"

"Nope. They all left me alone after you stopped them!"

"That's good. Where is your mom at? You didn't run away from her, did you? You'll worry her sick."

"No. Mommy is buying some fruit from the market. I saw you and ran over. It will be okay if I'm with you."

"Shining Star!" A frantic, yet familiar, voice calls out to the filly, and you see her mother run into view.

"Ma'am, she is over here." She turns to you and a look of relief washes over her.

"Thank you Issac. I swear I can't take my eyes off her for a second."

"Its okay ma'am."

"Oh no need for the ma'am. I feel like a grandmother when you say that. My name is Bright Light."

"Well it's been a pleasure Bright Light, but I have an appointment to keep. I have to make the next train for Canterlot. The princesses want to meet with me."

"Oh dear! If the princesses want to meet with you, we won't waste anymore of your time. Say goodbye, Shining Star."

"Bye Issac!"

"Goodbye." I wave to the ponies and they venture back towards the market place.

"You know them?" Twilight asks after watching my encounter with the two ponies.

"Yeah. I found Shining Star being bullied on my way to Sweet Apple Acres and stopped them. She was thankful, but then her mom showed up and thought I made her daughter cry. After the mess was cleared up, I gave Shining Star a few bits for some ice cream and left for Applejack's."

"Interesting."

"I hate bullies. I despise them. It makes me sick to think that somewhere, there is somepony who finds pleasure in putting others down and making their life miserable."

"Woah. Running high in there emotions department?"

"Spike!" Twilight says to him. "That was a very inappropriate thing to say!"

"What? It was just an observation."

"Either way, it was uncalled for and incredibly rude. Apologize to Issac."

Spike heaves a sigh. "I'm sorry Issac."

"It's okay. No big deal."

We walk in silence for a while longer, giving me some think to reflect on that dream. It's been haunting me for some reason. Silence said that I had a power that could defeat him, yet the princesses can't. So, does that make me more powerful than the princesses? I find that incredibly hard to believe. If they have enough power to pull me put of my own world and into theirs, they were definitely powerful I'm my books.

Even then, if I do have a power like that, how can I use it? He said it was a type of magic, so maybe the princesses will have something to say about it. Maybe they could help me with this

Either way, it's probably best to not tell the girls right now. I would only scare them with the talk about Silence. The princesses can do that instead.

Now that we are at the station, I can see the other girls waiting for us.

"Hey y'all. What took y'all so long?"

"We were stopped by a little filly. Issac can explain more when we are on the train." Twilight steps over to the ticket booth to pay for her ticket.

"Don't worry Twilight, I'll pay for the tickets."

"What? But it's 15 bits for a ticket to Canterlot?"

"So?"

"So, that's a lot of bits!"

"Don't worry about it."

"But-"

"Twilight. You and your friends have been nothing but nice to me since I arrived. Think of this as a way to pay you back for your kindness, and before you protest, I insist I buy the tickets. Money's not an issue."

I pull the necessary bits out of my pouch and hand them to the ticketmaster who looks at me with surprise in his eyes.

"Eight tickets to Canterlot."

"Uh, yes sir." He takes the money and hands over the tickets which I gratefully accept. I turn around and see Rarity whispering something to Twilight. Twilight's mouth is hanging open.

"Your rich!" She yells indignantly, causing some ponies to turn their heads.

"Uh... yeah?"

"But- but- but how? You've only been here for a day?"

"This is the equivalent of what I had back home. Although, we used a different kind of currency."

"What do you mean?"

"We don't use bits where I'm from."

"What do you use?"

"Dollars."

"A what?"

"Dollar. It's a slip of green paper that tells you how much it's worth. One dollar is equal to one bit. They had a number for their value in each corner of the bill, what we call paper money, and a picture of one of our presidents on the front."

"President?"

"The leader of our nation. The president was elected by the rest of the people and rules much like the princesses do."

"Fascinating. Tell me more about where you are from!"

"Why don't we get on the train first. I can talk about it more then."

"Good idea. I wouldn't want to miss the train and be late for our meeting with the princesses. Besides I have a list of questions that I want to ask you."

Gripping the straps of my backpack, I make my way past a few ponies and onto the train. I find a seat with the rest of the girls and Spike. Surprisingly enough, we had a whole train car to ourselves.

"There must not be many people traveling today. I've never seen a train car empty before."

"I guess so Twilight. Am I allowed to smoke on here?"

"Well normally I would say no, but since it's just us, and as long as the girls and Spike are okay with it, I don't see why not."

"Good. I'll save that for later." I rustle in my backpack for a minute and find what I'm looking for.

"What is that?" Applejack looks at the can in my hand.

"It's called chewing tobacco."

"Ya have tobacco where y'all is from?"

"Yes. Ponies have it?"

"Yeah, but we we don't sell it in cans."

"Huh, learn something new everyday." I shrug and pop the lid off of my new can. God I love the smell of tobacco. I pinch a sizable chunk of it and place it in my lip before closing the can and tossing it back in my bag. I reach around some more and pull out an empty bottle.

"Okay." I spit into my bottle. The trains whistle blows loudly and I feel it start to move beneath me." What did you want to know Twilight."


	6. Chapter 6: Train, Confession, and Love?

**Disclaimer:** I don't don't own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I do however own all of the OC's in the story unless stated otherwise. I also don't own Rubik's cubes. Or Xbox.

 **Warning sort of: Plot spoiler to Equestrian Girls.**

 **AN:** Welcome back! I did say that this was a dark-fic and it is. Next chapter will really show it. I really want to know what my readers think of the story, so please leave a review and tell me what's good and what can be fixed. Enjoy! R &R!

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 **Chapter 6: Train, Confession, and Love?**

The first hour of the train ride was taken up by me being pelted with questions from Twilight. She said that she had a list, but I didn't expect her to pull one out of her bag and actually read off each question. Other than the question bombardment, the ride was relatively peaceful. Each of the ponies and Spike had taken up their own seat and were doing their own thing.

I sat with Twilight for the questioning, but I didn't want to be rude and leave the other ponies out, so I had to cut down on question time.

"Twilight."

"Yes?" She looks up from her list. I believe she was on question 164. She had numbered them.

"I don't want the others to be jealous or think you are hogging me all to yourself, plus I want to get to know the better as well, so I was hoping we could stop the questioning there and finish when we return to Ponyville."

"Oh, no problem. I don't want to keep you from becoming friends with the others. The rest of my questions can wait."

"Thanks." I give her a smile and stand up, bag and bottle in tow. I look over the car and decide to talk to Fluttershy. I make my way over to where she is sitting and she looks up at me.

"Can I sit with you?"

"Um... I don't mind." She whispers at me and I take the seat opposite of her.

"So Fluttershy, you take care of animals?" She perks up at the mention of animals but still seems very shy.

"Oh, yes I do. I take care of all of the animals in Ponyville."

"That sounds like a lot of work. Does anypony else help you?"

"Um... no... just me. It can be hard work sometimes but I still like doing it."

"Really? Could I help you when we get back to Ponyville?"

"Oh no. I couldn't ask for help."

"Fluttershy, it's okay. I want to help. I like animals. Plus, it doesn't seem fair to have you do all of that on your own."

"Um... I guess... it's okay... if you really want too."

"I do. I can't be there all the time, but I can come over... let's say for an hour each day. Is that okay with you?"

"Yes... that is, if it's okay with you..."

"Of course it is." We spent the next few minutes discussing what she did to help the animals when they were sick, how often she checked up on them, and just her overall schedule.

After getting past the part about feeding the bears, Rarity came over and joined us.

"Deary me, it looks like Fluttershy has a new friend." Fluttershy hides behind her mane, embarrassed.

"Yes... Issac is nice..."

"I'm glad you and Issac are getting along. It's nice to see you open up every once in a while."

"Issac!" I look over and see Pinkie Pie bouncing in front of me.

"Uh, hello Pinkie Pie."

"Can I sit with you too!"

"Uh, sure Pinkie Pie." She sits down next to Rarity, who is sitting next to me. Right after she takes a seat, Applejack Rainbow Dash, and Twilight come over and sit next to Fluttershy, Applejack next to Fluttershy, Twilight next to her, and Raibiw dash on the outsiden

"Since y'all are sittin' over here, ah reckon that ah will as well. No point in leavin' anypony out."

"Where did Spike go?" I look around for the little dragon, but couldn't find him. "He was here just a minute ago."

"Oh he went to another car with some other ponies from Ponyville. He said that there was not enough guys to talk to."

"Haha, okay then."

"So what were you talking about?" I look at Twilight.

"I was just talking to Fluttershy about helping out with her animals."

"Really? I didn't know you liked animals."

"I do."

"Well enough about that, let's talk about something else. Issac, what did you do before you came here?"

"I don't follow."

"For a job."

"Oh, I didn't have one."

"Then how do you have all that money?"

"It was left for me by my parents. After they died, I lived with my aunt for a few years until a lawyer came by and gave my aunt the money because I wasn't old enough to claim it myself. My aunt Gabe me the money and kicked me out at sixteen."

"I went to live with my friend for a while, but I eventually moved out and rented a place if my own. I've been there for nearly the past year, up until yesterday. That's when I came here."

The girls were silent as I told my story, looking on with interest and shock.

"Your aunt kicked you out?"

"Yeah."

"Why would she do that to ya?"

"She didn't like me."

"What!" All of girls yelled, completely in rage. "How could she not like you if you were her nephew!"

"I don't know, she just didn't. I never liked her much though either."

"Still, that ain't right fer an adult to kick out a young 'un just because they don't like em."

I shrug and stare out the window for a few minutes. Suddenly, Rainbow Dash calls out to the rest of us.

"Let's play truth or dare!"

"Why?" Rainbow Dash gives Twilight a confused look.

"Because it's fun."

"I think that's a marvelous idea." Rarity voices her approval of the game.

I shrug. "Sure, why not. Sounds like fun."

"Okay, I'll go first. Issac, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Aww, you're no fun. Whatever, have you ever kissed a girl?" Applejack looks startled when Rainbow Dash asks me that.

"Now Rainbow, that there is private information. If Issac don't wanna answer it, then he don't have to."

"I really don't mind Applejack. The whole point of truth or dare is to learn more about the people playing, no matter how embarrassing the question is. Unless you pick dare, then we get to make you do stupid things. Anyways, to answer your question Rainbow Dash, yes I have kissed a girl before."

"Now it's my turn. Pinkie Pie, truth or dare?"

"Ooh pick me!" Pinkie Pie starts bouncing in her seat like she drank fourteen cups of coffee and was doing some unknown drug.

"I did pick you."

"Ooh yay! I pick dare!"

"I dare you to stand on one hoof for the rest of the game."

"You're on two legs!" She jumps out of her seat and balances on one hoof, not unlike a ninja pose. Rainbow Dash moves over to take Pinkie Pie's seat to make things more comfortable.

"Two legs?" I mock offensiveness and Pinkie Pie sticks her tongue out at me.

"Okay, my turn! Twilight, truth or dare?"

"Umm... truth?"

"Have you ever walked into magical mirror that transported you into another world where everypony wasn't a pony bit walked on two legs like Issac and met all of is and rescued the crown thingy from Sunset Shimmer who was Princess Celestia's old student before you were and then fell on love with Flash Sentry who is on of the royal guards!"

How she managed to say that all in one breath, not pass out, and remain standing in the same pose was completely beyond me.

"Uh... no Pinkie."

Pinkie Pie looked sad. "Aww... that would have been cool."

"Okay... anyways, it's my turn, right? Applejack truth or dare?"

"Truth obviously."

"Do you have a crush on anypony?" Everyone was silent and stared intently at Applejack. Her face was turning red.

"Well... ah uh... ya see ah... yes..." Everypony gasped at this revelation.

"Applejack! Darling you must tell me who it is! Have you told them how you feel? Does he like you back?"

"He likes another girl .. and ah never told him how ah feel."

"It's okay Applejack. I'm sure you'll find a handsome stallion someday."

She nods at Rarity. When she sees me looking at her, she quickly turns away and the blush appears on her cheeks again. Does she... like me?

"Uh, Rainbow Dash, truth or dare?"

"Dare of course!"

"Ah dare ya ta..."

"Come on AJ, we don't have all day."

"Ahm thinkin'... ah dare ya ta ask the next guy ya see on a date!"

"What!? I can't do that!" She looks around the table for help when she sees me. I smirk at her.

"So about that date... Dashie." Her face glows red and she looks at her hooves. She mumbles something quietly.

"What was that? I can't hear you." The other girls are watching with varying degrees of interest. She mumbles a bit louder.

"Sorry, what was that?" I was totally enjoying this.

"Do... do you want to... go out sometime?" She looks up at me, her face nearly the same shade of red in her rainbow mane. I smile at her.

"Sure. When and where?" The other girls start laughing. Rainbow Dash looks back down.

"I don't know..."

"Okay, I'll set it all up. Come by the library after we get back from Canterlot." The other girls start laughing even harder. I smile again. "If your lucky, I might even get Twilight out of the library for a few hours so we can have it all to ourselves."

The girls stop laughing and stare at me. Rainbow looks confused. "Why would we be at the library for-" She stops when she sees me licking my lips in her direction. Her eyes grow wide and she flies out of our car and into the next one.

"I think somepony has a crush on Isaac." Rarity giggles to herself.

"Issac? Were you serious?"

"No. Just having a bit of fun." I chuckle at the joke and Twilight laughs too. "It will be nice to get to know Rainbow Dash some more though. I haven't really had a chance to talk to her since I've been here. I haven't really talked with Pinkie Pie or Fluttershy either. Hey Pinkie."

"What's up Isaac!"

"You can stop I think the game is over for now."

"Okay!" She hips back into her now vacant seat and rocks back and forth.

"Hey Pinkie Pie, would you mind of I stopped by Sugarcube Corner one day to just talk and hang out?"

"Oh course not you silly filly! But you have to Pinkie Pie promise to call me Pinkie from now on. That's what my friends call me!"

Friends. That sounds nice. I'm pretty short on friends at the moment, not counting the ponies here.

"What's a Pinkie Pie promise?"

"Cross my heart and hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye." She made a series of motions that went along with it.

"Like this?" I repeat the saying with the motions.

"Yep! Come over whenever you want!"

"Alright. Thanks Pinkie." She just smiles at me. I look back out the window. I wonder how Hannah is doing right now?

 **-Earth, Hannah POV-**

I was walking down the street towards Isaac's house. I couldn't sleep. He was on my mind all night. It was torture not knowing where he was or if he was okay. I want to scream and cry so bad.

Sarah was crying after the I walked her home from showing her the letters. I don't know if she will be okay, but at least I know she has her brother there with her. It makes me feel a bit better.

I finally made it to his house, and like before, it was unlocked. I open the door slowly and close it behind me, taking in the emptiness of the place. It was almost terrifying seeing the rooms devoid of his presence.

In his bedroom, his bed was still unkempt from right before he left. Holding his pillow close to me, I can still smell him like he was here. The scent of... oranges. He always smelled like them. I sigh and lay on his bed. I miss him so much.

It's only been a day and I feel like I'm dying.

He was our leader. Our rock through the bad times and our shining ray of light through the good ones. He doesn't know it, but all of our friends look up to him. Sarah, Daniel, Josh, Alex, Bridget, Alice, Tom, and myself, we all love him no matter what.

He helped us through so much when he was already dealing with his own problems. He blames himself for everything that happened to us, but that's not true. He is the one who gives us hope. He made us want to live, just to stay by his side. Even Alice, who was 21 when she died, asked 16 year old Issac for advice. It was almost funny.

It's incredible just how strong our bonds are and how long they have endured. I've known him since he was only four and we have been friends since. Grabbing the blankets, I curl up underneath of them.

I don't know if I can trust this 'Princess Celestia' person, but if she says that Issac is okay for now, then I'll have to believe her. I want to believe her. I need to believe her. Issac just has to be okay. She sad he might die or something, but I can't lose him too, because... because I love him... and I never told him.

 **-Equestria, Isaac POV-**

The train was finally pulling into the station at Canterlot. It was three and half hours of boring, if you didn't count the truth or dare session. Rainbow Dash finally rejoined us in the car, but sat as far away from me as possible. I stood up and stretched my arms above my head.

"Okay, time to meet the princesses... again." We grab our 'luggage' and exit the train. Immediately, I noticed that I was receiving dirty looks from some of the ponies.

"Apparently I'm not welcome here."

"Don't worry, all of the high class Canterlot ponies think this way. If your not one of them, you're dirt." Twilight leads our group away from the station. It's unlike anything I have ever seen before.

I was, of course, talking about the castle. I've been inside, but I didn't know it was this big. It stood tall and proud against the mountain side, the sun shined against the pale white outer walls.

We were led through the main section of the city, following the road that, I assumed, led to the castle.

Not but a few minutes into our journey, one of the ponies along the street cried out.

"Disgusting! Who let such filth roam the streets of our city!?" I turn to see a younger stallion staring at me. He has a shiny red coat and a dark red mane and tail. His cutie mark was a diamond. "That thing belongs in a cage, not here."

"Hey-" Applejack starts to yell at him before I cut in.

"No Applejack, I'll take care of it."

"But-" I cut her off with a look.

"Sir, may I ask what your name is?"

"I am Crimson Diamond, owner of the largest jewelry store in Canterlot, The Diamond Emporium."

"It is quite nice to meet you, Mr. Diamond. If I did anything to offend you, I'm terrible sorry."

"You offend me with your presence ape!"

"That can not be helped. I was requested by Princess Celestia that I meet with her."

"I doubt that very much! Why would Princess Celestia want to speak with you? If I were a prince, I would never wish to speak with one of your kind."

"That is why you are not a prince." Everypony in the vicinity turns to see Princess Luna standing before us.

"Princess Luna!" The red pony tremble and bows before her, just like the others. I smile and give a wave, walking up to Luna.

"Hey Luna, it's good to see you." I could hear the gasps coming from the other ponies.

"That is Princess Luna you inferior creature! Speak to her with respect!" All of the ponies rise and Crimson Diamond looks flustered.

"It is good to see you too Issac!" Luna throws up a hoof and we embrace quickly. I have take a liking to Luna. She is very nice and sensible, plus she seems to care for me a lot more that the common Canterlot pony.

Crimson Diamond looks on with rage. "How dare you touch the princess like that!"

I turn and face him. "Are friends not allowed to hug?" I lift up the pendant I have on my neck and he pales when he sees it.

"My... my apologies Princess. I did not know."

"Do not apologize to me. Apologize to Issac. He has done nothing wrong, yet he earns the ire of the city just for looking different. Issac has even tried to apologize for nothing, just to avoid a verbal conflict with yourself. It is quite sad to see an outsider treated like this. I will inform my sister of what has happened here."

Crimson pales even more and looks visibly frightened as he shakes uncontrollably. I turn to Luna.

"Luna, I'll handle this. You don't need to tell your sister." I walk over to Crimson who is still shaking. I put out my hand. "I'm Issac, it's nice to meet you."

The rest of the ponies look on with curiosity as Crimson slowly puts his hoof out to grab my hand. He shakes it slowly. "I am... Crimson Diamond. The pleasure... is all mine."

"Don't worry about it. I understand that looking different can be intimidating or scary to some, but I promise that I'd you just try to get to know them, they won't be as bad as you first thought."

Crimson seems to relax a bit and let's out the breath he had been holding. "I... I was ring to judge you. I'm sorry."

"It's okay." I let go of his hoof. "You say that you own a jewelry store?"

"Yes."

"Do you sell earrings?"

"We do... why do you ask?"

"I think it's about time for a new pair." I pull back my hair so he can see my ears. "I've had these ever since my mom died. They were the ones my dad gave her on his death bed."

He looks saddened by the short story, but perks up. "It would be an honor if a friend of the princesses came to my Emporium. I'm sure I could find something to fit."

"Sounds good. I will come by with Luna after I meet with the princesses."

"P-Princess Luna will accompany you!?" I turn to look at Luna. She nods her head. "That would be wonderful!"

"Think nothing of it. Luna, we can leave now. I will drop by later for the earrings." Crimson, for once, looks happy to see me as he nods.

"Good day Issac."

"Same to you Crimson Diamond." I walk back up to the princess who is looking at me with amusement.

"That was handled very well Issac. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks Luna, but we shouldn't jeep your sister waiting any longer."

"You're quite right. Let us journey forth to find my sister, until our quest is complete or we perish in the harsh environment!"

I stare at her incredulously. "Have you been reading adventure books lately?"

She blushes and looks down. "Yes, actually." I laugh and we start our walk to the castle, the girls talking adamantly, and Luna and myself discussing random things like childhood friends.


	7. Chapter 7: Silence Speaks

**Disclaimer:** I don't own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I do however own all of the OC's in the story unless stated otherwise. I also don't own Rubik's cubes. Or Xbox. I do not condone the smoking of illegal substances, nor have I ever participated in such acts.

 **AN:** Sorry for the late update peoples, I had a bit of a problem with this chapter, not to mention I played in a magic tournament on Friday and came in third! Plus the 4th, so I had many a firework to shoot off. Not only that, but I have been trying to get another job. Also I had to finalize some college stuff for this fall, so yeah, it's been pretty hectic for me this last week. I should be updating regularly after this.

Many lols and feels ahead. I have finally fixed my current stories on my profile page. Go check it out. Also I still need OC characters for Shattered Elements! Please submit your OC if you want it to be in the story. My OC characters are all up on my profile as well. If you need an OC for a story, pick one and enjoy! Enjoy the chapter! R&R!

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Silence Speaks**

The rest of the walk to the castle was, thankfully, uneventful. I guess having a princess by my side tends to have that effect on the population.

When we reached the castle, the royal guards let us pass into the throne room where Princess Celestia was waiting for us.

"Greetings ponies, Spike, and Issac. I am glad you all came." The girls, with Spike, ran up to talk with the princess.

"So Luna, is the shadow here in Equestria yet?"

"Yes, but it has not tried to attack anypony. My sister is very worried with its presence. I do not understand why it has yet to attack."

"I think I know. I had a dream last night, well it closer to a nightmare. I can explain more when we all get together and talk about whatever Princess Celestia wants to say."

"That's sounds like a plan. So how have you been?"

"Pretty good, but I really need to unwind. The dream and the constant problems with ponies and myself... I need to get high."

"Climbing tall thing helps you relax?"

"No, it's what humans call the state of mind you get from smoking weed."

"Weed?"

"It's an herb that has a mellowing effect when the vapors from it being burned are inhaled. It's a drug, but you can't become addicted to it."

"You do drugs?"

"Yeah. They help me stay calm. A lot of people think it's a bad excuse for using them, but it does really help me."

Luna looks confused and slightly worried, but doesn't say anything about it. "Perhaps we should join the rest of them so we can speak about the problem."

"Yeah, that's probably best." We walk over to the other ponies and Spike just as Princess Celestia was going to bring them to a different room.

She leads us down a series of hallways before stopping at a large set of double doors. A black alicorn adorned the doors, with silver and gold lining and weaving across the doors in an intricate pattern.

"Princess, what is this place? I've never seen it before while I stayed here at the castle."

"This, my dear Twilight, is the Royal War Room. It has not been used in over 2,000 years, but now it is time for us to use it once again. Hopefully, it will be the last time."

"Why did you need a war room before?"

"You all know the story of Shadow Slayer, correct?" All of the ponies, and Spike, nod with confirmation. "This was built be cause he thought it would be a good idea to have a place to talk about strategy that was away from prying ears."

"But Shadow Slayer is just a legend right?"

"No Twilight, Shadow was very real and because of his efforts Equestria was saved. You know him to be a black alicorn, just like myself and my sister. This was not the case. He was a human, just like Issac. We gave him a different body so that the ponies would accept him more."

"Issac is not a normal human however... I will explain fully when we are inside." She pushes open the doors with her magic and I see a circular table sitting in the middle of the room. It is a dark brown oak, polished to shine. Around the table sat ten chairs, two of them being different from the others.

"The room has been layered with magic by Shadow Slayer, Luna, and myself. It would be nigh impossible to break into the room or listen to our conversation."

The princesses sit in the two chairs out of place and the rest of us take am unoccupied seat.

"Now, I shall start by explaining why I summoned you here today. There is a great evil lurking in Equestria, on so powerful that only Issac actually has the power to stop it."

The rest of the ponies looked shocked. "What about the Elements of Harmony? They stopped Nightmare Moon and Discord."

"Rainbow Dash, I am afraid that the Elements would do no more to it than a fly could do to you. It is an ancient being that wields an old magic. So old, in fact, that even our parents, King Dusk and Queen Dawn, did not see it in their lifetime."

"How did this evil thing get a hold of the magic then?"

"It has lived since those times. It is part of a race of immortals that govern the universe and it's denizens. They are called Eternals."

"How is it that it has managed to live this long? Is it an alicorn?"

"No. It too is an Eternal."

The ponies and myself sit back to take this all in. "How am I supposed to stop it? If it is as strong as you say, and both you and Luna can not stop it, how am I supposed to?"

"Humans also have magic. It is a very rare occurrence that one should be able to wield it. Those that can are usually branded as witches."

"Princess, I had a dream last night. I was in a deserted wasteland and a shadowy figure talked to me. It said that it had no name, but was known as Silence."

The princess looked visibly shocked and frightened at this. "It talked to you. We may have less time then I thought."

"That's not all princess. It also said that it will attack in two weeks, when it has its full strength back. It called me the son of Zachim and mentioned something about my grandfather as well? I don't understand what that means, my fathers name is Zach and I never met my grandfather."

"This brings me to the next topic, what Issac is. Issac your father did not die of cancer. He is an Eternal."

"What? No, he died. I saw him die in his hospital bed when I was five."

"His human body, yes. He had done all he could to help your world and was no longer needed, so he left."

"Princess, what do you mean, his world?"

"Ah, I was getting to that. Twilight, Issac is not from Equestria or anywhere else on this planet. He comes from a distant place called Earth."

"How is that possible?"

"I brought him here with magic."

I interrupt the conversing ponies. "He... he is alive then?"

"Yes."

"Then what does my grandfather have to do with this."

Princess Celestia clears her throat. "Your grandfather is Lord Kelux, king of the Eternals."

* * *

I walked along the streets of Canterlot, thinking about what I learned today. I am half human and half immortal thingy. My father is alive and in some other dimension with my grandfather, who is the ruler of the universe. I had the ability to use magic. Twilight is going to be my teacher.

Why can't anything be simple! It was so much easier when I didn't know about all of this crap.

"Is something troubling you Issac? You see distracted."

"It's nothing Luna, I just really need to relax tonight after all of the stress of today."

"We would all do well to relax tonight. We have a long two weeks ahead of us."

I nod in agreement. "Say, you know where this jewelry store is at?"

"Why of course. We are almost there in fact."

A few minutes of walking later, I see an extravagant building ahead. The sign said 'The Diamond Emporium'. The 'i' in Diamond was dotted with an authentic ruby, dark red in color.

A red stallion trots out of the building and bows before the princess.

"Princess Luna, I am so very grateful that you could make it."

"As am I. I am looking forward to helping Issac acquire his earrings."

He raises from his bowed position and turns to me. "I'm glad to see you have arrived Issac. Once again, I am very sorry for our misunderstanding earlier."

"That's okay Mr. Diamond."

"Please call me Crimson. Any friend of the Princess is a friend of mine." He leads us inside.

The interior walls were painted a scarlet color with intricate patterns of silver running throughout. The jewelry was stored in glass case through the shop and a staircase in the back led to the second floor.

"Issac, what are you looking for? Anything specific?"

"As long as they fit and don't dangle down, like a hoop, anything that Luna likes is fine."

"Issac?" Luna gives me a questioning glance.

"You came to help me pick out the earrings right? I'm letting you pick them out."

Crimson nods. "Of course. Princess Luna, if I may, I will show you where the earrings are at." Luna nods and follows him towards the back of the shop. I took a seat in one of the chair near the front of the store and waited for them to finish.

After a few moments I was approached by another pony, a unicorn. Her coat was green and her mane was blue and she wore a pair of glasses. She was carrying a small blue notebook and pencil in her magic. Her cutie mark was a black splotch with an ink well and quill.

"Hello."

"Hi." She took a seat next to me but didn't say another word. It was weird to say the least. Normally if a pony came up to me it was to ask me something, not 'hello' and then silence. She didn't even ask my name.

"How do you know Princess Luna?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"I was just curious as to how one of the princesses made a new friend. I'm a writer and I need a new idea for a story. Oh, where are manners! My name is Ink Blot!" She grasped my hand and shook it energetically.

"My name is Issac. It's nice to meet you Ink Blot."

"Likewise. So how did you meet the princesses?"

"Well I came here from a far off place to help the princesses with something. We have been friends for a while now."

"That's interesting. Well I didn't actually come here to ask about the princesses. I want to do a story on your species."

"Humans?"

"Yeah. You are the first of your kind to visit Equestria. It's a diamond mine for the writers and journalists alike. I might sound selfish, but would you let me interview you for my story? If not, I respect your privacy, but I would appreciate the chance. If you did, I-"

"I'm going to stop you there Ink Blot." She looks at you confused. "I'll answer your questions, but it will have to wait until I get a meant of peace. Right now isn't the best time for me."

Her face brightens up visibly once I agree to be interviewed. "No problem at all! I'll be in Canterlot for the rest of the week before heading back to Fillydelphia."

"Could you make a stop in Ponyville after your stay here is up? I live with Twilight Sparkle. You can drop by in a week and I can tell you what you want."

"Spectacular!" She stands up out of her seat and faces me. "I look forward to it."

"As do I." She gives me a wave and leaves Crimson's store. At this point, Luna and Crimson return from their search.

"You found a pair?"

"Yes, I believe that Princess Luna chose quite an appropriate pair."

"I hope you like them." Luna floats a pair of earrings over to me. I see that one is a crystal clear diamond with a web of yellow coursing through it. The other was a vibrant blue sapphire with a vein of black similar to the diamond.

"They don't match?"

"Exactly. The diamond symbolizes Celestia and the sapphire is myself. They are so you remember your time in Equestria when you return home."

"That's very thoughtful." I take the earrings and place them in my ears, sapphire on the left and diamond on the right.

"What about the other earrings?"

"Oh, I have another piercing above those, I just didn't have any earrings in."

"Okay. Are you ready to depart now?"

"Yes. Thank you Crimson. How much do I owe you?"

"Don't worry about it. The earrings are already paid for."

"How? That doesn't make any- Luna?" She looks at the floor sheepishly.

"They are a gift from me to you for helping my sister and myself."

"That's very sweet of you Luna." Her faces gains a tinge of red.

"Think nothing of it. Let us go now. You need to return to Ponyville tonight correct?"

"Yeah." We wave goodbye to Crimson and exit his emporium, continuing our conversation. "Can I ask you for a favor Luna?"

"What is the favor?"

"Well you see, on the train ride here, all of us played truth or dare..."

* * *

Being blinded by teleportation was one thing. Being teleported itself was a completely different story. It is hard to describe. One moment your in one place, the next you are somewhere else. It between there is a fraction of a moment where it felt like my body dissolved. Almost like I was just a consciousness floating in nothingness. It was... creepy.

After the dizzyness from the teleporting had worn off, I could see that I was back in the library. Twilight was sitting at a table reading a book like always. Spike was rearranging some of the other books.

"Princess! Issac! You're here!" Twilight put down her book and rushed up to us.

"I was just helping Issac home. I must return to Canterlot to rest. It has been a stressful week."

Something clicked inside my head. I had an idea. An idea so fiendishly beautiful that it's outcome would only bring laughter and happiness to myself. I smiled.

"Luna? Do you remember what I was talking about earlier? At the castle."

"Oh yes, the herb used to sooth and relieve stress."

"Well, I was already planning on doing it, but I wondered if you would like to join me."

"That does sound nice. Stress relief is something I could really use. I accept your offer." I was giggling inside.

"Okay. It's all up in my room." I walk up the stairs and Luna and Twilight follow. I guess she was interested in what was to come.

I open the door to my room and walk to my dresser while the girls took a seat.

"I want to state this outright right now. This is technically a drug. You can not get addicted to it and the effects vary from person to person, or in your case, pony to pony."

"You are going to do drugs! Princess, you can't be serious!"

"Don't worry Twilight, it's not harmful. In some states, it is legal to use, and before you ask, states are like large provinces that divide the nation."

"Well... I still don't like it."

"Then why did you come up here with us?" She sat, nor responding and pawing the ground with her hoof nervously.

"I want to document the experience."

"Okay. I suggest you don't take part then. Just watch, I promise it will be worth it." She nods and pulls out a piece of parchment and quill from... I don't even know.

I grab my pipe, lighter, and bag and join them on the floor. Opening the bag, a beautiful scent fills my nostrils. Ah, sweet medicine. I carefully get to my work and the girls watch with interest.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm breaking up the chunks so it fits into the bowl easier... okay done. Now, you don't have fingers, so you will have to use magic. Cover the small hole at the side here and inhale through the end. The vapors might burn a little, but don't worry. After a moment, unplug the hole and inhale the rest of the vapors. I'll go first so you get an idea for it."

I take the pipe in one hand an my lighter in the other. The vapors sting as they course through my lungs. I move the pipe away and exhale gently. Bliss.

"Okay Luna, just do what I did. You might start coughing since this is your first time, but don't worry, it will go away." I hold out the pipe and she grabs it in her magic. I lean over and light the lighter. She inhales... and inhales... and inhales.

"Luna? That's enough." She stops inhaling and exhales a large quantity or smoke onto the air. I take the pipe and lighter away and look at her. She is staring at me with intensity when all of sudden she burst out into laughter.

"Hahaha! You look like a marshmallow! Hahaha!" Twilight is giggling to herself and starts to write furiously on her parchment. Luna falls back onto her back and starts to kick her legs in the air, laughing all the while. This will be fun.

* * *

About 45 minutes later, Luna had finally come around and was giggling to herself.

"I feel much better now. Thank you Issac."

"No problem. I told you it would help with your stress. Though I don't think I look like a marshmallow." She blushes and looks at the ground while I smile at her.

"Sorry about that."

"It's okay. Now about that favor... is everything set up?"

"Yes, I contacted them before coming here with you. They will be waiting."

"Good. Now I have to find Rainbow Dash. She will be waiting for me and I can't keep a lady waiting."

Luna smiles at me. "Very well. I too must find my sister and speak with her about what we are to do when Silence shows itself."

"Okay. Let me know what you both come up with so I know what's going on. Of I really am the only one who can defeat it, I'll want to know what you have planned."

Luna nods and in a flash of light, disappears. I leave the library and make my way through town, keeping an eye out for Rainbow Dash.

* * *

It took a lot longer to find her than I anticipated. I was hoping to catch her snoozing in a cloud. No such luck. I ran around town for twenty minutes looking for her before I found her leaving Sweet Apple Acres.

"Hey Dash!" I wave to the rainbow maned pony and she comes to a standstill.

"Hey Issac, what are you doing out here?"

"Looking for you. We have a date remember."

"Oh, yeah. I was kind of hoping you would let me off the hook. Dates aren't really my thing."

"No chance. Besides, I know you will like what I have planned. Luna helped me get it together, and I've actually wanted to see this, so we're going and that's final."

"But..."

"No buts, now come on or you'll miss them."

"Them?" I grabbed her hoof and dragged her towards Sugar Cube Corner, ignoring her question. When we got there, I could her faint chatter inside.

"Okay, are you ready Dash?"

"Ready for what? You won't even tell me why we are here."

"Just go inside." She huffs and pushes open the door to Sugar Cube Corner. She nearly fainted at the sight. I push past her and see the Wonderbolts sitting around a table, in uniform, talking about a show that they were going to put on.

"I'm telling you Spitfire, two barrel rolls will give mote finesse then just one, and it won't mess up our performance."

"Really Fleetfoot? Two is too many. If we do just one then-"

"Hey!" Soarin calls out to me. "Issac is here with Rainbow Dash!" I smile and wave back. "Come have a seat! We were just talking about our show next week in Canterlot."

Dash wobbles and I walk over to the table, taking the unoccupied seats. Dash was sitting next to Spitfire and I was seated next to Fleetfoot.

"So the Princess mentioned something about a very talented pony living here in Ponyville." Spitfire looks at Dash who blushes. "Are you that pony?"

"Yes..." Her voice is barely louder than a whisper, much like Fluttershy.

"Would you mind showing us some of your moves? It would help is get a feel for what you can do." Dash nods and hops off her seat, preparing to exit Sugar Cube Corner when...

"Hello! Who are... you're an alicorn!" I turn and see Rainbow staring at the newcomer.

He was an alicorn, jet black coat with a silver mane and tail. His eyes were silver as well. The most disturbing part was his mouth... it was stitched shut. The silver threads crisscrossed over his muzzle creating an impassible net.

 _"Bow now before your ruler."_

A sharp voice pierced my mind like a hot blade. It was familiar. I heard it before in my dream. It was him. He was here.

"Silence!" I yell at him. He closes his eyes and a pulse of magic rushes forth from his horn. It throws everypony back into a wall, knocking them unconscious. I remain standing and unscathed.

Dash took the worst of it. Her left hind leg was broken badly and there was a bone jutting out from the middle of it. The floor around her was soon covered in her blood. Silence walks over to her and I try to stop him, but can't move for some reason.

"Leave her alone!"

 _"Why, I'm not going to harm her further. I want to keep her for my... amusement."_ The threads covering his muzzle break and he opens his mouth to reveal fangs and a long tongue that drapes over Dash's face. "She is quite tasty."

I cringe at the voice, no longer in my mind. It was plenty worse now than in my head.

"This is motivation. One week. I give you one week before I start killing innocent ponies. I will be waiting at The Eternal Palace."


	8. Chapter 8: Silence Strikes

**Disclaimer:** I don't own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I do however own all of the OC's in the story unless stated otherwise. I also don't own Rubik's cubes. Or Xbox.

 **AN: READ!** I know this is one long authors note, but bear with me and read it if you care about Shattered Elements, my next MLP fic. Otherwise just go straight to the story and I hope you enjoy!

Welcome back friends! I am glad to be back! Sorry about the hiatus, but I think this break has really helped me. I will most likely take an extra day or two to upload some of the following chapters, until I have everything all worked out. My release schedule is now all messed up, so now the stories will come out in a new order. Check out my profile for more details.

I am sorry to say, but because of certain reasons, Shattered Elements will be pushed back being released. I still plan to write it, but I will need two more OC's before it is supposed to come out. If I do not have the OC's by the time it is to release, I probably just won't write it. I don't like having to push things off (I wanted to cry when I typed the word hiatus) and it's something I want to write now, but I don't want to fill the spots with my own OC's. I want to have more reader/writer interaction because I feel like I know you better and you get yo see me write more of what you want to read. I like the OC idea because you become a part of my story. I want you to see yourself on these characters (maybe not Issac) and enjoy the story, not only for the story it is telling, but the characters and places they go. So I want you tell me everything that you like and dislike about the story. Is Issac too unlikable? Is Celestia too OOC? Whatever it is, I want to know what I can do for you to enjoy the story more. Moderation comes with this of course. I can't just be like 'oops, now the humans are all aliens from mars and the ponies are actually humans in disguise.'

I know I'm pretty much rambling at this point, so I'll let you get to the reading part of the tale. Hope you enjoy chapter 8 and I can't wait to upload the next one. :) R&R!

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Silence Strikes**

 **-Equestria, Issac POV-**

Sitting in the hospital room with Dash was one of the scariest things I have ever experienced. It was my fault that she was hurt. If I wouldn't have brought her to meet the Wonderbolts then she would still be okay.

The doctors said she would be okay, but the leg will take a while to heal. She hasn't woke up since the incident either.

Twilight and the other girls were sitting around the room looking downtrodden. They said that they felt guilty for not being able to do anything, but it wasn't their fault.

"Girls, you look tired. Go home and get some rest. I will stay here and look after Rainbow Dash."

"Y'all must be tired too. Ya need yer rest just like the rest of us."

"I'll be fine Applejack, just go on home for now."

"I'm sorry to interrupt." A nurse wearing one of those little nurses hats and carrying a clipboard walks into the room. "Visiting hours are over."

"Come on Issac, we can try and work on your magic skills for a bit before we go to sleep." Half heartily, I agree with Twilight and all of us leave the room and depart for home. I stayed with Twilight while the other girls took their own paths.

"So what are these lesson supposed to entail?"

"Well first we need to access your magic. To do that requires concentration and time. I'm afraid we don't have much time."

"Okay. What happens after we access my magic?"

"We train to hone your skills. We'll start off with some small spells and work our way up until you can't perform them."

"Sounds like fun. So to access it, all I have to do is will my body to produce magic?"

"To put it simply, yes." We arrived at the library and Twilight went upstairs.

"I'll help you with spells in the morning. I'm going to get some sleep. You need sleep too, so don't spend too long trying to do this."

"Okay." I sit in the floor cross legged and concentrate.

I'm not exactly sure what I'm supposed to be looking for, but I'm sure I will know when I find it.

* * *

Searching for a little place inside yourself is hard. I'm trying to focus on my body and will it to come forward, but nothing is happening.

"AAAAHHHHHHH!"

Okay, so yelling really loud doesn't unlock special powers. Damn you anime for lying to me. I stand up and start pacing the room. How am I supposed to find something when I don't even know what it looks or feels like. Is magic like a river inside of you? Maybe it is a bucket that slowly empties as you use it. Is it a ball, or a glowing person who you have to talk to to unlock these powers? Maybe I'm just stupid.

I sigh in frustration. Now what am I supposed to do?

Maybe I'm just too tense. Relaxing might help unlock this power. I take a seat on the ground once again and calm myself. Slowly but surely I start to feel tired. I feel myself slipping onto dreamland and the world around me darkens.

* * *

I feel a hand pushing my shoulder. Since when does anypony else have hands? I open my eyes groggily and see a lake before me. I look around and notice that I am definitely not in the library anymore.

The lake is huge. It must be nearly a half mile wide and a mile long. The water was not a blue like I would expect, but rather a silvery color that made the water look like syrup. The land surrounding the lake was a grassy plains, hills rolling off into the distance with the occasional tree popping out of the ground.

I look up and see who it was that touched me. The man was older, maybe mid forties or early fifties. His head was encompassed by long black hair with a few grey streaks. His eyes were a bright blue and seemed to glow. He was also my dad.

"Dad!"

"Hello Issac. It has been some time since we saw each other last."

"That's all you have to say!? Hello!"

"Issac, I only left because I had too."

"That is utter bullshit! You could have stayed with me and mom! Do you even know what happened to her after you left!"

"You need to calm-" I jump to my feet and get in his face.

"She died! She killed herself because you weren't there anymore! Do you understand what that's like for a five year old! Being told that your mom and dad went away and are never coming back!"

"No, I don't unde-"

"Damn right you don't! It was fucking hell! I'm just lucky that mom's sister didn't beat me while I stayed there or I would have killed myself-"

"Issac!" His sudden outburst shocked me out of my yelling. "Listen to me. I had no choice. I had to leave once Earth was stable enough to survive without my help. You were less than a year away from a World War Three. It would have wiped out half of the world's population."

"So you just left after you fixed our problem."

"Yes. If I didn't then the outcome could have destroyed Earth itself. The presence of an Eternal has a healing effect on the world they reside in. However, after too much exposure, the Eternal can have devastating effects."

I take a deep breath and calm myself. "What are you doing here?"

"The correct question is what are you doing here Issac. This is the Lake of Valor. It resides here in the realm of the Eternals. It is the only place to have gone untouched by Silence during his slaughter many millennia ago."

"I'm trying to unlock the magic inside me so I can fight him."

"That is something you must do for yourself Issac, but I can help you. Do you remember the lake you played at when you were younger?"

"Yeah, we went there right before you died."

"Yes. This lake is the lake you were at. What does it look like to you?"

"Uh, what?"

"What does the water in the lake look like."

"Can you not see it?"

"Just humor me Issac."

"Okay... it looks silver and thick, like syrup."

"Good. When the water color changes to gold your powers will be awakened."

"So what, am I just supposed to put a crap load of gold food coloring in it and poof, magical powers?"

"Not exactly. You must first walk around the lake. If you walk around the lake in less than an hour, your powers will be awakened."

"It's only a few miles around though? I could make the journey in thirty minutes."

"Let's see it then." I frown at him and turn to walk away. I start jogging along the lake shore. I told him there was nothing to it.

"See I'm not even..." I turned around and saw him standing right behind me. "Why are you following me?"

"I'm not. I haven't moved from this spot since we started talking."

"How?"

"You haven't moved Issac." I don't know what is going on, but there is something preventing me from moving around the lake.

"How am I supposed to move?"

"You have to figure this out on your own. I've been here too long, now I must leave. Just think, where does your power come from Issac. That will give you the answer." My dad disappears in a flash of light, leaving myself alone and confused.

How am I supposed to know where this power comes from? I didn't even know about my power until today for crying out loud.

I sit down and think. If I am supposed to unlock my power by running around a lake, then I need to somehow make it possible for me to actually move around the lake. Right now there seems to be some weird force that is preventing me from doing just that.

I could probably use magic to help me, but they problem is that I done have magic. I sigh in frustration. What did dad say? Where does my power come from?

Well I have no fucking idea where it comes from. It's inside of me, so it comes from the inside. Now that I know that, what am I supposed to do with it?

"Damn, why is something like this so hard?"

* * *

I think it has been nearly three hours. So far, no progress. I've tried everything that I can possibly think of, but no luck. I'm just so confused as to how I am supposed to find this 'power' inside me.

Dad told me that I just need to think about where my power comes from. If it comes from inside of me, then does it really matter where exactly? I lie back on the ground and look up at the sky.

"Inside... inside of me... where could it... my heart?"

Does the magic come from my heart? Is it really that simple? I just have to believe in my powers and they will come to me?

I close my eyes and focus on my heart. I can feel it beating. I can hear it pulse rhythmically. I feel... what is that? That feeling... is it, magic? The feeling begins to swell and it consumes me from the inside.

 **-Equestria, Princess Celestia POV-**

"This is very troublesome Luna. He disappeared without a trace, knowing that Silence was going to be here. I do not understand."

"I agree sister, but we must trust Issac. He is the only one who can stop the darkness. Whatever he does, we must back his decision."

Luna and myself were having a late night, talking about Silence, when I received word from Twilight Sparkle that Issac had disappeared. "I suppose so sister. Perhaps we should let him be, though I do feel uneasy about it."

"I understand, but we can not be too quick to force him to do something. He still needs to learn to control his powers, the ones he still has yet to find."

"Yes, this especially worries me. He is supposed to fight Silence, but he has no powers. How can he accomplish this without them?"

"I do hope that he doesn't need to use them... you know what will happen if he does?"

"Yes I know... his father was the one who told me, but even he said there was no other way."

Silence falls between us as the topic grows dark. Zachim was correct. It will be hard to watch him leave.

"Princess!" I look up from the table and see a guard running at me. His face was covered in blood and his armor was ripped though. "You need... to get... to safety." He fell over and lay still on the floor.

Luna stood up quickly. "What happened!?" Another guard ran up, less injured, but just as frightened. "Tell us what is going on."

"Princess, there is an intruder. We don't know what it is, but it moves like a shadow." Luna tenses up and looks at me.

"Gather all of the guards. Bring them to the throne room immediately." The guard heeds my words and makes haste towards the other guards. "Luna, it must be Silence. He is the only one powerful enough to invade the castle without us knowing about it."

"You're right sister. Should we contact Lord Zachim? He might want to know that Silence has shown himself again."

I nod at Luna. "Yes, the sooner the better. I will try and deal with Silence while you reach out to Lord Zachim."

"But sister-"

"Luna, listen to me. The only way to get rid of Silence is if Issac does it. I can not get rid of him, but I can hold him back until Lord Zachim arrives. I will not sit by and watch Silence murder our little ponies. I can do something to stop him, so I will do my part. Do you understand Luna? Do your part."

I run away towards the now audible sounds of fighting, leaving Luna to contact Isaac's dad, hoping that he can do something about this.

* * *

The sound of splitting metal and screaming voices grew louder with every step I took. The guards were in a panic, I could hear the tone on their voices. They were scared of Silence and they had a right to be.

From what I heard from father and mother, Silence was just like any other pony that they knew. He was kind, smart, and very caring. Back then he had a name, but that name has been long forgotten.

One day he just snapped. Something just seemed off from that day and he grew darker and more reserved. He kept quiet and only spoke when necessary. Even then, his voice was a whisper, nothing more.

As I drew nearer, I could hear his voice, scraping the walls and reverberating through me. The feeling was not a pleasant one.

"Come here ponies! I promise I'll make your end quick. I just want one little taste."

The very thought of ponies eating other ponies made me want to vomit. I held back the bile in my throat and rounded a final corner. Silence was there, standing above a guard pony. The guard had his throat ripped out and was missing a leg.

I couldn't hold it back this time. I vomited onto the floor and Silence just stared and laughed at me.

"Dear sweet mother, what is happening?" I heave to myself.

"My dear Princess, it's simple really. You see, I have come to pillage, destroy, and... eat." The way he said eat sent shivers down my spine. I really hope that Luna made contact with Lord Zachim by now.

 **-Earth, Hannah POV-**

It has only been two days since Issac has left, but it feels longer. Sarah was with me at his house, along with Josh this time. We had shown him the letters that this Princess Celestia sent us, but he didn't seem too bothered by it.

"If Issac is off helping other people, then who are we to stop him. It's nice that he is helping out. I'm kind of bummed that he won't be going on our trip with us though."

"Aren't you concerned for him? What if he was kidnapped?" I didn't like the thought, but Sarah had a point. What if this was a kidnapping?

"How long has he been gone Hannah?"

I shake myself from my thoughts. "Uh, almost two days now."

"Then let's go file a missing persons report. If he really was kidnapped, then at least the police will be looking for him. If not then he will come home when he is done doing whatever it is he is doing."

"I... I guess we can do that. I still don't like that he left without saying anything."

I silently agree with Sarah. "Okay, let's go to the police station then."

* * *

It has only been two days since Issac has left, but it feels longer. Sarah was with me at his house, along with Josh this time. We had shown him the letters that this Princess Celestia sent us, but he didn't seem too bothered by it.

"If Issac is off helping other people, then who are we to stop him. It's nice that he is helping out. I'm kind of bummed that he won't be going on our trip with us though."

"Aren't you concerned for him? What if he was kidnapped?" I didn't like the thought, but Sarah had a point. What if this was a kidnapping?

"How long has he been gone Hannah?"

I shake myself from my thoughts. "Uh, almost two days now."

"Then let's go file a missing persons report. If he really was kidnapped, then at least the police will be looking for him. If not then he will come home when he is done doing whatever it is he is doing."

"I... I guess we can do that. I still don't like that he left without saying anything."

I silently agree with Sarah. "Okay, let's go to the police station then."

* * *

"Excuse me? Miss, can you repeat that for me?"

"I said that our friend has been gone for over two days. He never leaves without letting us know where he went, and he just disappeared. The only thing that was left was a note from some princess claiming that she needed his help."

"Right... do your parents know you're out?"

"I'm not crazy!" I yell at the officer behind the desk and the majority of the station looks our way. "You don't have to believe us, but this is really what happened. Either way, it has been more than 24 hours, so I want a missing persons report filled out now."

The officer stands up. "I'll go get a report, just sit here and don't go gallivanting throughout the station." The officer leaves to grab the report and I heave a sigh, sliding back into the chair.

"I hope that Issac is okay."

"Same here Hannah, we all hope he is okay." I look over and see Sarah playing with something in her hands.

"What is that Sarah?" I point at the thing she was holding.

"It's a charm. It's supposed to give you good luck. I hoped that it might let us find Issac." I smiled sadly at her. We could use all the luck we could get right now.


	9. Chapter 9: The Beginning of the End

**Disclaimer:** I don't own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I do however own all of the OC's in the story unless stated otherwise. I also don't own Rubik's cubes. Or Xbox.

 **AN:** Hey reader peoples! I know it has been a while since I uploaded. I can't use enough words to express how sorry I am. I am now back for good, as long as nothing happens to me. I will try to go back to my old update schedule, but for now, I'm going to stick with once a week at the very least. If I can upload more than that, then I will. If you are still with the story after this incredibly and stupidly long hiatus, I thank your dedication and I'm glad you still want to read my crappy writing. Anyways, enough about me and my crap. I hope you enjoy chapter 9! R &R!

* * *

 **Chapter 9: The Beginning of the End**

 **-Equestria, Princess Celestia POV-**

I was trying to dodge his attacks, but he is so powerful... I couldn't do anything to stop him.

"Now Princess, why would you want to stop me? I'm trying to help you."

"How is murdering innocent ponies helping anything! They are innocent! You can't do what you please just because you are stronger than they are!"

"You are probably right..."

"What?"

"But it does not matter. I am a god, and you can not go against a god."

"Screw you!" I would have covered my mouth with my hands, if I had hands. I have never spoken that way to anypony before.

"My my princess, that's quite a rude thing to say to someone. Especially me."

"I don't know what you are talking about. leave now before Lord Zachim arrives."

"Oh, I'm not worried about him. He can't hurt me. Once I've reached my full power, I will be able to take back what is mine. I will rule in the Eternal Palace!"

"You can't! Only an Eternal who has been elected to the seat of King can rule! Killing innocent ponies will only serve to ruin your reputation and not get you the throne. All ruling beings in the universe know this. Why can you not understand!?"

"Dear Celestia, it is you who does not understand. If I am the only Eternal, then I must be the ruler.

I was quiet for a moment, realizing what he just said. "The others... are dead?"

Silence let's out a mighty laugh, chilling myself to the core. "Now you see it! I killed them all! Even your parents were no match for me! The only one left is that overgrown brat, Zachim. I must thank you for sending for him, I couldn't have found him otherwise."

What have I done? If Lord Zachim fights Silence and loses, then the universe will crumble into ash. It will be as desolate as it was the day it was made. "You can't do this!"

"Oh? And why, pray tell, can I not?"

"There must be balance in the universe for it to exist! If you take the throne and continue this senseless bloodshed, the universe will fall into darkness. None could survive. Not even the Eternals."

"That is the point."

"What!? Why would you kill off you own kin, rise to Lord of the Eternals, and then throw it all away!?"

"My kin, as you call them, are nothing more than twisted, sick, conceded rulers, playing puppeteer to the beings in the universe. They think that because they have power, they can do as they please. Ruling and manipulating are two very different things Celestia, you should know this. If the Eternals were all like you, none of this would have happened. They care not for the matters of the people, ponies, or what have you, but only for their own selfish lives. They grew bored of immortality and decided to play a game in which beings like yourself were the pieces. A sick, twisted game, one that ends when the universe runs out of pieces to supply."

"I ask you now Celestia, not as a rival, not as a superior, not even as your uncle, but as a denizen of the worlds. Is it right to play with others lives? Is it right to make others do what you will just because you are stronger than they are? If you join me, I promise that I won't touch this world again. You may continue your existence here as of nothing had happened. Tia... what do you choose?"

I knew what had to be done. I knew what the right choice was. I had prided myself on making the right choices my whole life, no matter how hard they were. Whether it be a treaty with another nation, or a dispute among ponies, I made the right decision. I know that what Silence is doing is wrong. I know I am supposed to side with Lord Zachim and Isaac, but... what if they lose? What if Silence does win? What will happen to my little ponies? I couldn't forgive myself if he hurt anypony else... I know what I have to do.

"Uncle."

"Yes Tia?"

"You are right... what the Eternals did was wrong, and they should be punished for it."

"I knew you would choose the rig-"

"But what you are doing is worse! You are playing with the lives of everypony! You are playing puppeteer! You are becoming the thing that you hated in the Eternals! I... I must do the right thing. I choose the side of good. I will stand against you uncle... even if it kills me."

"I'm sorry to hear that Tia. Now, as you you so precisely put it, it will kill you." Silence jumped forward at me. I prepared myself for the worst, but a bright flash of light intercepted him, throwing him against the far wall of the hallway.

I turned to see Lord Zachim with a slight smile playing on his face.

"You called Princess?"

 **-Earth, Hannah POV-**

"Okay, so the forms are all filed out and you gave us a picture of him as well. We will do our best to find him, but I can't make you any promises."

"Please! You have to help him! He could be in terrible danger right now! Or dead!"

The officer sighed and leaned back in his seat. I didn't mean to sound rude if I did, but Issac is our friend! He has to be found.

"Look, kids, I'm going to be straight with you. You don't seem the types who want me to beat around the bushes. Every month, we get about five missing persons reports. Out of those five, I'd say about four show up a few days later after being hooked on some crazy drug or forgetting to call their parents. One out of those five we find in the woods or some abandoned building. Every once in a while though... well, we do the best we can. I'm not going to lie to you and say everything will be alright. I'm not going to say that you'll see him tomorrow. I will say, though, that we will do everything we can to find your friend, but that is no guarantee. Now, it's getting late and I'm sure your parents are going to start to worry. Head on home before they show up here to fill out more missing persons reports."

I sighed and nodded. I guess that's the best we can do for now. Josh seems okay with letting the police handle this, but Sarah was giving the officer a weird look, like she didn't trust him.

"Come on girls, let's go." Josh threw his arm around Sarah and I followed them towards the exit. Once we were outside, I noticed that it really had become late, the sun barely visible over the horizon.

"I didn't realize that it was getting this late."

"It's all my fault!" Josh and myself states at Sarah's sudden outburst. "I could have prevented this! It's all my fault!" Tears were visibly rolling down her face at this point. Josh pulled her closer, softly rubbing her back.

"It's not your fault. No one knew that this would happen."

"Yeah Sarah, Josh is right. We couldn't have known that Issac was going to disappear."

"But I did! I knew and I didn't do anything!"

I understand that it might be hard to deal with Issac being gone, but it wasn't her fault. If what that note said was true, then Issac is helping people that need it right now.

"Do you guys remember visiting Isaac's dad in the hospital?"

"Of course I do. I saw Issac cry for the first and last time that day." I remember it clearly, like it was yesterday. "Why do you ask?"

"After everyone left, I stayed behind with Issac. His dad wanted to talk to me privately..."

 **-Flashback, Earth, Sarah POV-**

Issac was sitting next to the bed where his dad was lying. He looks so sad... I wish I could help him...

"Issac..." His dad called out to him. "Could you... send for a nurse... to get me... a glass of water?" Issac wordlessly got up and shuffled out of the room. His dad turned to me.

"Sarah... come here please..." I slowly walked up to the cot. "You are too young... to understand now... but one day... Issac will need your help... He will leave this place... and travel far away... take this..."

I held out my hands and he placed a pendant in them.

"It is a good... luck charm... you will know when to... use it... just remember... everything returns to... the earth eventually..."

I looked at the pendant in both awe and confusion. I don't really understand what he meant by helping Issac, but it looked amazing. It was wooden, almost black in color. It had a weird symbol carved on one side and a shiny purple gem on the other.

"Do not let Issac... see it... and don't tell... him about it... Ah Issac... did you bring me... my water?"

Issac silently handed his father the glass and returned to his sitting position. I stood there, confused. Why am I supposed to save Issac?"

 **-Present, Earth, Hannah POV-**

"I've had this charm the whole time and I never told Issac or anyone else about it. I thought that maybe his dad was just crazy, but now... now I know the truth. I could have stopped him from leaving, but I didn't."Sarah, that was nearly 13 years ago. No one can blame you for that."

"Yeah." Josh spoke up. "What happened to Issac wasn't your fault.

Sarah just kept on shaking her head and sobbing. Josh got her to start walking and we headed towards home.

I don't blame her, and I know Josh doesn't blame her, but she blames herself. If there is a way to show her that she doesn't deserve the blame, I don't know what it is.

"You kids seem lost? Looking for something?" I spin quickly and see a man standing right inside of an alley, hidden almost completely by the darkness.

"We aren't kids. We can take care of ourselves."

"I'll say. You guys have grown up so much since I last saw you."

"Huh?"

"Don't tell me you don't remember..." The man stepped out of the shadows. His long black hair blew in the breeze. His eyes... those piercing eyes... I haven't seem them since... "The father of your best friend?"

 **-The Lake of Valor, Issac POV-**

The glow subsided and I could finally see my surroundings again. My insides felt all tingly, like I just teleported. I did a quick check of my surrounds to make sure I was in the right spot. Endless grassy hills. Check. Random trees everywhere. Check. Gold lake. Che- wait what!? I look at the lake again. The water was definitely gold. Does that mean... I have powers now?

There really was only one way to find out, but I have no idea how I'm supposed to use these powers, or even what powers I have. I need to find dad. He can help me.

My only problem now is that I have no idea where he is. Or where I am. Or how to get out of this place. Dammit! I should have asked dad about that.

Maybe my powers can get me out of this place. If they were really as strong as everyone claimed they were, I should have no problem with teleporting or something like that.

Okay, now I need to concentrate. Sitting down, I close my eyes and cross my legs to focus on that sensation I just found in myself. My magic. I need to go help the others. I repeat this sentiment over and over again.

Finally, after what feels like an eternity, I feel that feeling bubble up inside of myself. It grows until I feel it force itself outside of my being. I open my eyes and see white. Literally.

The space around me had be some occupied by a glowing mass of... white. I took a few deep breaths and concentrated harder. Slowly I felt myself slipping away. The white consumed me and I fell into darkness.

 **-Equestria, Issac POV-**

To say I woke up wouldn't be right as I never fell asleep. However, in the short time it took for me to complete my journey, I was in total darkness, so I might as well have been sleeping.

When I arrived at my destination, I was unceremoniously dropped onto the floor with a loud plop. I looked around and saw that I was in the throne room, but that no one was present. I started to wonder where they could have gone when, suddenly, I heard a large boom come from further in the castle.

"I guess there is as great a place to start as any." I headed in the direction of the boom and prepared for the worst.

After making a few twists and turns, I found myself at the origin of the noise. Luckily I made it there without too much trouble. However, seeing what and who was there, I kind of wished that I had gotten lost.

Princess Celestia was lying on the ground, covered in cuts and burns. Her breathing was labored and ragged. Luna was with my dad, fighting... Silence? It was hard to tell because of the change in his appearance.

The pony of darkness was now a humanoid creature. Multiple spikes came out of his body at random points, each one jagged and covered in some gooey black substance. His face was distorted into a crazy grin and he had fangs that reached his chin protruding from his mouth. His skin was by far the most disturbing. It was a sickly green and had patches that were burnt. Some places were tore open and oozing the same black substance that came from the spikes. There was even a spot on his left arm where there was nothing but bone showing.

I wanted to vomit, and judging from a stain on the floor, someone else had the same idea. I wanted to help my dad and Luna, but Princess Celestia looked really bad, so I went to her first.

I knelt down next to her and felt for her pulse. It was faint, but still there.

"Princess, can you hear me?" I sat and awaited a response. I received none. "Princess?" Still nothing. I started to panic.

Then it hit me. I have magic at my disposal now. I should be able to heal her.

Ignoring the cries of anger and pain coming from the other three fighting, I tried to call my magic out from inside myself. I willed it to heal the Princess.

Slowly, the same white cloud seeped out of my being and surrounded the Princess.

"Heal." The cloud glowed faintly. "Heal." I spoke louder. The cloud glowed once more and stopped. "FUCKING HEAL THE PRINCESS NOW DAMMIT!" I roared, my vision clouding over. My voice was amplified and echoed throughout the room. Even the fighting desisted. The white cloud glowed so brightly that even looking at it hurt my eyes.

After a few moments, the light died down. I turned to face Princess Celestia. What I saw was nothing short of amazing. There stood the Princess with no burns. No cuts. Even her mane wasn't disheveled anymore

"Issac..." Her voice was stern and regal, just how a princess' should be. Then it changed. "... I thank you from the bottom of my heart. If it were not for your healing, I would surely have died within the day. Let us kill this cretin now." Her voice turn motherly and affectionate, that is, until she spoke of the 'cretin'.

"I agree." I turn to face the stunned Silence and smiling Luna and dad. "Let's put him down now."

* * *

The fight was unlike anything I have ever experienced before. Sure I'd been in a few scuffles here and there. At school, at home, wherever. But this... this was a battle of the gods. Literally. All the beings in the hallway, myself excluded, were immortal and all powerful. I felt tiny and insignificant next to them.

"Issac! Duck!" I turned and noticed a large, green colored projectile flying at me. I fell flat against the floor and it zoomed by, colliding with the wall behind me. A giant, smoking crater was left in it's wake.

"Silence! End this senseless violence! It will accomplish nothing!" My dad yelled at Silence while he wasn't shooting spells at us. "You will only bring forth more unwarranted destruction."

"Unwarranted!? You think that this is unwarranted!? You must be even stupider than I thought. Simply because you didn't side with me warrants this. If you are not an ally, then you are an enemy. If you are an enemy, then you are with the rest of the Eternals. Death is the only thing for you."

"What do you think she would say if she saw you now? What would Lanluta say?"

"Don't say her name! Don't say it!" Silence's grin broke into a face of fear and regret.

"She would be disappointed in you. She would condemn you. She would disown you."

"NO! SHE WOULD NOT! SHE STILL LOVES ME! SHE DOES!" His sudden outburst scared me. Who was this Lanluta? Does that mean that dad and Silence are related?

Silence let out a long scream and disappeared into a shadowy veil.

"So is it over?" I asked, knowing what the answer would be, but hoping that he might have disappeared for good.

"Not by a long shot. This is just the beginning." Princess Celestia lowered her head and sighed. "I suppose that you have questions."

"Yeah, a couple. First, who is Lanluta? Second, are Silence and Dad related? Lastly, If even Lord Kelux doesn't scare Silence, who is Lanluta to be able to scare him like that?

Princess Celestia heaved a great sigh. "Let us go to the throne room. This will take some time, and you should be sitting before learning the truth."

As the Princesses and Dad walked away I couldn't help but wonder. I was in a world where magical and technicolor ponies lived. Magic was a normal part of society and the sun and moon were raised by the ruling princesses. If I needed to sit for this new information, how bad could it be?


	10. Chapter 10: The Origin of All

**Disclaimer:** I don't own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I do however own all of the OC's in the story unless stated otherwise. I also don't own Rubik's cubes. Or Xbox.

 **AN:** Welcome back! I am both happy and sad to announce that the story is on it's downhill journey. It should be done in the next four to six chapters. This also signals for some of the darker events to begin. It will only get more gruesome and sad from here on. Enjoy! R &R!

* * *

 **Chapter 10: The Origin of All**

I know that I probably shouldn't be freaking out about everything that just happened. I know that I should try to take it without too many 'what the hell' and 'are you fucking kidding' me moments, but what I just learned definitely warranted a few of those.

 **-20 Minutes Ago-**

The throne room seemed too quiet. Of course, that might be due to the fact that it was practically empty, but this silence was... unnatural. Luna took a seat right on the floor along with Princess Celestia, both of them way to tired to even climb the short set of steps to their thrones. Dad sat in between them and I took a seat opposite of him.

"You wanted answers to your questions and I will do my best to answer them." Princess Celestia's head droops a little bit. "Luna, you will be informed as well, seeing as how you don't know much about the Eternal either. Feel free to correct me if I mess up any information. You would know best as you are an Eternal yourself."

"I'll do that if I must. Go ahead and tell Issac."

"Alright. To answer your second question, yes they are related. Silence and your father are brothers. They were, along with Luna's and my own father, the three children of Lord Kelux."

"...What!? So that means..."

"Yes. Technically speaking, Luna and I are your cousins by blood."

Okay, I am officially freaked out. I'm cousins... with a pony... "I think I might faint again."

"That's not even the worst of it Issac." Dad spoke up causing me to stare at him. "Princess Celestia doesn't have the answer to the other questions as she is not among the Inner Circle. The Inner Circle was the twelve most trusted Eternals, appointed by Lord Kelux himself. Both Silence and myself were apart of this group. What I am now about to tell you is forbidden. Normally, I would be put to death for such things, but nothing about this is normal. Only five full blooded Eternals still exist. Silence, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, myself... and Lanluta."

"So who exactly is she?"

"She was Lord Kelux's wife... she is the mother of all of the Eternals, and in turn, is the metaphorical mother of all beings. She contains something called The Ring. It's an object that has the ability to grant life and death to any and all beings... even the Eternals."

"So that's why Silence is scared of her?"

"Yes. If she wanted to, she could kill every living thing in the universe, just by wishing them dead. However, using this power has repercussions on the user."

Luna spoke for the first time since sitting down. "What kind of repercussions?"

"Memory loss. Lanluta no longer remembers anything of her old life. Luckily she doesn't need to eat, or even breath, to live. She doesn't even remember that she has The Ring, nor does she remember how to use it. She used all of her memories helping those she deemed worthy of it."

I sat quietly and took it all in. It was a lot to take in such a short amount of time. I was glad that I was being trusted with this information though. It meant that they trusted me to save Equestria, but I was also disturbed by what was being said. But...

"Is it possible to talk to her?" The others turned and stared at me, like I asked to jump off of a cliff.

"It is, but the journey is difficult and would take an enormous toll on your body and mind. You wouldn't be the same afterwards. Why do you ask?"

"I have an idea, but I'll need a favor from all of you in return."

 **-Present-**

The walk down to the palace gardens was incredibly long. It couldn't have taken more than a few minutes, but to me it felt like forever. Perhaps it had to do with what I just suggested to Dad, Celestia, and Luna... I don't think I will ever get used to calling Celestia by name without her title. She said it was okay because we are related, but it still sounds weird.

Once I reached the palace gardens, I found the chariot waiting for me. I was surprised that Celestia had gotten one ready so quick.

"We are ready to leave when you are sir." One of the pegasus guards hooked to the chariot spoke, giving a salute as he did. I nodded and climbed into the chariot.

As I felt the chariot move, I looked at the rolled up parchment in my hand. I seriously hope this works.

* * *

Ponyville drew into sight and I immediately remembered something. I didn't have the chance to tell Twilight anything about my leave. Crap, she will be so pissed.

As the chariot neared the ground, I could make out a small crowd forming. I saw Twilight and the other girls too. They didn't look too good.

When the chariot landed, I braced myself for a massive lecture from Twilight, but none came. The moment I stepped out of the chariot, I was bombarded by... hugs. I was being hugged.

"I was so worried! Where have you been for the last day! Nopony could find you!" Twilight cried as she hugged me. Before I could pull her off of me, one of the pegasus guards pushed her off. She looked at him in confusion.

"Don't touch royalty without permission, Miss Sparkle." She looked at me and then back at the aforementioned guard.

"I guess I have some explaining to do. Well first off, it turns out that my father and Celestia's and Luna's father were brothers. So technically, the Princesses are my cousins." Most of the jaws of the ponies present dropped at the revelation. Some of them even bowed. "Guards, you may go. And tell the princesses I arrived unharmed." They nodded and took their leave, pulling the royal chariot off into the distance.

I turned back to the present ponies and found them, surprisingly, to all be bowing down now. What really got me was even Twilight and the girls were bowing.

"Rise." They all rose. "Do not treat me like royalty. I am Issac, just Issac. I am a friend and not someone to look up to or to be revered." Some of the ponies relaxed at hearing this, bit others still seemed uncomfortable with the idea of addressing royalty do casually.

Off in the crowd, I heard a familiar voice.

"Issac!" The cried of ponies split to reveal Shining Star galloping towards me. Her mom, Bright Light, wasn't far behind.

"Hey Shining Star." She grabbed onto my leg and hugged me. I couldn't help but smile.

When her mom reached us, she stopped and bowed. "Forgive her your Majesty."

I cocked my head at her. "Bright Light, I'm not mad that she hugged me. Like I said before, treat me like anyone else... That being said, she should be punished." Some of the other ponies gasped, including Bright Light. Twilight and the girls looked horrified at what I said.

"Please! I'll do anything, just don't hurt my baby!"

I cleared my throat. "I hereby sentence the filly, Shining Star, to a stomach ache." The ponies looked at me in confusion. I took out a few bits and gave them to Bright Light. "By ice cream." She smiled and looked relived. Shining Star was, of course, jumping around again.

"Yay! Ice cream!" The ponies looked on happily, some of them even chuckled at the sight.

"Alright, I have some business to attend to that can not wait." Bright Light nodded and left with Shining Star in tow, still jumping and praising ice cream.

The crowd dispersed and I turned to the girls. "We need to talk. Now."

* * *

The library was a comforting sight. It was the same, just as when I left. Granted it had only been a day, but still. Twilight pulled out several cushions for everyone to sit on and we took a seat in a circle on the floor.

"So what is it you need to talk about Issac?" Twilight looked at me with a certain amount of curiosity.

"Yeah, Ah don't rightly understand why y'all need all of us here if yer on business. Ah would think y'all would be doin' business stuff." Applejack scratched her head with her hoof, trying to understand why I called them all here.

"I have a message from Celestia and Luna." I pulled out the parchment and unrolled it. "They wanted me to deliver it personally to make sure it got here. This is important. Even more important than the magic of friendship, and that came from both of the princesses, so listen closely."

The girls were staring in astonishment. Even Fluttershy looked as though she couldn't believe what I said. I cleared my throat and read.

 _Dear Bearers of the Elements of Harmony,_

 _This letter will be received in a different method from which you are accustomed to. The matter at hoof is one of a most dire nature._

 _The journey that Issac is about to go on is one of a dangerous nature. So dangerous that he might die before reaching his destination. It will be filled with hardships that nopony has ever known. The matter is also very sensitive in nature. You are not obligated to accompany Issac on his journey, nor will you be reprimanded, scolded, or blamed for anything should you choose to decline. However, if you choose not to go, you must be subjected to a memory modification spell so as to forget that this meeting took place._

 _If you choose to accompany Issac, then you must know your destination and task. You will be traveling to the Eternal Realm, the place where the Eternals live and rule. You will be locating the Eternal known as Lanluta and acquiring an object called The Ring from her. This object has the power to destroy Silence once and for all. Silence is the being if darkness that is corrupting the land. Rainbow Dash has already met him during her visit with the Wonderbolts_.

 _I truly hope that no matter what your decision in the matter may be, you all are safe. You will depart at dawn and will have 5 days to complete your mission. If it is not done by then, I'm afraid Equestria will succumb to darkness along with with every living being in the universe._

 _Hoping your journey ends well and you learn the most important lesson of friendship._

 _Your princesses and friends, Celestia and Luna_

As I rolled the parchment up, I noticed that the reactions from the girls were exactly what I was expecting.

Twilight seemed to take everything well until the part where I mentioned the most important lesson of friendship. After that she was staring in disbelief with her mouth open.

Rainbow Dash was the least affected, at least outwardly. She looked disturbed by what was being said, but took it without complaint.

Pinkie Pie... well somehow she managed to start eating a cake.

Rarity fainted after hearing that Equestria could fall into darkness if we didn't complete our task.

Fluttershy was hiding under her cushion by the end of it all.

Applejack seemed to start tearing up at the mention of my possible death. Just more things to point towards her liking me.

Now that everypony was informed, they had a decision to make.

* * *

After a few minutes, the others were finally able to coax Fluttershy out from under her cushion and wake up Rarity. Once I had their attention again, I proceeded.

"You need to make a choice. You either leave with me come dawn, or stay in Ponyville. It's starting to get late, so I'll give you one hour to decide. If you haven't said yes or no by the tine the hour is up, you will stay in Ponyville. Now, I need to pack a few things for the trip. If you plan on going, I suggest you do the same."

I stood up and headed up the stairs to my room. In truth, I had very little to pack. So after an hour of rest and relaxation, I'll go back downstairs and get their answers.

 **-Ponyville Library, General POV-**

The girls were unsure of what to do at this point. On one hoof, they have been given a great task by not one, but both of the princesses. It was an honor and most ponies would jump to do what they were asked without hesitation. On the other hoof, it could be potentially fatal for everypony involved.

"Twilight darling, what do you have to say on the matter?" Twilight looked at Rarity, who posed a great question. She was, not trying to be boastful, the smartest of the group. At least when it came to making logical decisions and such.

"If you want my opinion on the matter, and from a logical standpoint, I say that we should stay on Ponyville. Issac is the only one capable of stopping Silence, so what would we be able to do. Even Princess Celestia said that the Elements of Harmony wouldn't be able to even harm him. We should, logically, stay in Ponyville and hope that Issac succeeds. If he doesn't, it will give us a few days to spend with the ponies we care about."

"Ya say that this is all from a logical perspective. Ahm wonderin' what yer non logical one is." Twilight turns to Applejack.

"I would say go with Issac. He is our friend and we should be there for him, regardless of what the outcome may be. If we can help him in any way whatsoever, it won't be sitting on our flanks in Ponyville."

The girls sat silently for a moment. Rainbow Dash spoke up.

"Maybe we should cast a vote or something? Like a secret ballot? That way nopony will go if they don't want to just because their friends are going."

"That... is actually a really good idea Rainbow. I'll get some parchment." Twilight got up and trotted over to one of the many tables in search of some spare pieces to use.

"So, if a few of us want ta go, and a few of is want ta stay, then what do we do?"

"I think that before we cast our vote, we should swear to abide by what our vote says. This way we won't be allowed to go back based on what the others choose."

"Alrighty then. That seems fair ta me." Twilight managed to find some pieces of parchment and wrote everypony's name down on a separate piece. She passed them out and set an inkwell and quill in the center.

"Remember though, Issac said that we have an hour to decide what we want to do, so there is no rush. We should think this through, because once we decide, there is no going back." Twilight levitated a box over and set it next to the quill and inkwell. "After you write your answer, just put it in the box."

Only five minutes passed before somepony put their answer in the box. First was, surprising everypony present, Fluttershy.

"I know what I want to do. Waiting won't change that." Applejack's answer came shortly after.

"Ah agree with Fluttershy. Waitin' won't change anythin' fer me." One by one the girls dropped their parchment into the box, until only Rarity was left.

Rarity was confused and torn. She really did want to help Issac with his burden, but her sister... and her boutique... she couldn't just leave them either.

"Rarity, I don't want to seem pushy, but you have five minutes." Twilight looked at her friend with worry. Rarity sighed and scribbled on the parchment before dropping it in the box.

The last five minutes were spent in silence before Issac walked back down the stairs.

"That was a great nap." Issac yawned and stretched.

Twilight looked at him incredulously. "You were napping!?"

"Yeah. I haven't really had much sleep lately and I wanted to catch up on what little I could. Anyways, your hour is almost up, what have you all decided?"

Twilight levitated the box over and dropped it into his hands. "We wrote down our choice on those so our answer wouldn't be affected by what the others chose." Issac nodded and moved to sit at a table. Once seated, he drew the papers out and looked at them.

"So... what did everypony choose to do?" Issac didn't answer, but rather he stood up and headed towards the stairs. "Issac?"

He stopped on the stairs and looked at the ponies. "I'll see you all in the morning... except you Rarity." He continued up the stairs to his room, leaving the girls alone again.

"Rarity?" Twilight spoke up. "Why don't you want to go?"

"I can't leave Sweetie Bell behind." She didn't say anything else as she left the library.

 **-Earth, Hannah's POV-**

"Zach? Is that really you?" I couldn't believe my eyes. There is no way that he could he here right now. He died in a hospital bed.

"Of course it's me. Now before you start bombarding me with questions, I assume that you read the letter left by Princess Celestia, am I correct?"

"Yeah, but... how did you know about that?"

"I told her to write it. Everything she said was true."

"Why are you here then? Shouldn't you be helping Issac?"

"Issac is beyond my help now. He no longer can be protected by me. However, he can be helped by you. Sarah, do you still have the pendant I gave you before I died?" Sarah nodded shakily. "Good. You will need it. I already told you how to use it, now you just have to."

Sarah nodded again. "Oh, and before I forget. Issac asked a favor of me before I left. I came here to bring you this." Zach pulled a letter from his coat pocket and handed it to Sarah. "Remember what I said. Everything returns to the earth eventually."

With that, he disappeared. Literally. One moment he was standing in front of us, the next he was just gone.

"Is anyone else confused by what just happened?" Josh looked as confused as I felt.

"No. You're not the only one Josh."


	11. Chapter 11: Decisions

**Disclaimer:** I don't own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I do however own all of the OC's in the story unless stated otherwise. I also don't own Rubik's cubes. Or Xbox. Also, I can't, for the life of me, remember if day court was an actual thing in the show or if it was just fan implemented. If it was by the fans, credit goes to whoever did it first. If not, sorry I'm wasting your time.

 **AN:** Hello everypony, and welcome back to From Sadness comes Sadness! Thanks to the recent review from a guest. I'm glad you enjoy the story and I hope you stick with it until the end. Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Decisions**

 **-Canterlot Station, Issac POV-**

I was rather surprised by the number of ponies that agreed to go with me on my journey. Rarity's choice didn't surprise me in the slightest though. As friendly and tolerant as she is, she not only has a sister to look after, but also a business to run. It wouldn't feel right to take that all away for the sake of making our party of six a party of seven.

Twilight convinced Spike to watch over the library in her absence. Applejack had her brother and sister to look after the farm. Pinkie didn't even own Sugarcube Corner, she just worked there. Fluttershy's animals could look after themselves for a few days. Rainbow Dash had a whole load of pegasi working for the weather team, so one missing member wouldn't be the end of the world. But Rarity... she had a business to run and a family to care for.

I shook myself out of my thoughts and stepped off the train and onto the Canterlot platform. The other five followed me closely as we wove our wave through numerous ponies and out of the train station.

"I'm so tired." Rainbow Dash walked on in a slumped position.

"It's your fault for not going to bed early enough." Twilight belittled a tired Rainbow Dash on proper sleeping habits. "You should get eight hours of sleep every night."

"Yeah yeah. Say Issac, where are we going again?"

"First to the castle. We need to speak with the princesses before we leave. Then to the Eternal Realm, where we must make our way to the Palace of the Eternals, locate Lanluta and The Ring, obtain The Ring, and kill Silence using The Ring."

"Uh huh. So after we get this ring thing, we just walk out like nothing happened and nothing will stop us?"

"Something like that." Rainbow Dash fell silent and just walked with the rest of us.

"Wait a minute. The princesses never told me about a meeting." Twilight stopped in the street and stared at me in confusion. "If we are supposed to meet them, they would have told me about it."

"They don't know about it either. Come on, we are going to be late." After hearing the word late, Twilight started moving again, not wanting to be tardy for anything, least of all an audience with the princesses.

* * *

I don't think I will ever get used to the elegance of the castle doors. There is just something about them that says 'look at me, I'm beautiful'.

The guards outside of the castle doors stood raptly at attention. Upon approaching them, they stopped us.

"Day Court is in session. If you have business with the princesses, you must wait until afterwards."

"I don't think that will be necessary. I'm the princesses cousin." I pulled out the pendant I received in the box from Luna back on Earth and showed it to the guards.

"Very well sir. You may proceed." The guards pushed the doors open and stepped aside. I walked in, followed by the girls, and met a very surprised Princess Celestia.

"Issac! I was not expecting you to stop by. I thought you would have begun your journey by now."

"Not yet Celestia, I had to ask a favor of Princess Luna. Plus I thought the girls would want to say goodbye." A round of gasps echoed throughout the room as the nobles turned and muttered to one another.

"You dare speak to the princess like that! Such impudence! Princess, I must ask that this thing is thrown in prison immediately!"

Celestia looked at the noble with a frown. "I couldn't do that-"

"I'll handle this Celestia." I calmly walked over to the noble in question. "I'm afraid we haven't met. My name is Issac. I'm Celestia's and Luna's cousin." Another round if gasps echoed throughout the throne room.

"Such lies! Princess, I ask-"

"That you behave yourself when speaking to my cousin." The nobles turned and stared at Celestia. The serious look on her face told all there was to tell.

"M-my apologies P-princess."

"It's quite alright, but mind others better in the future. Day Court will take a five minute recess." The aforementioned pony bowed his head and turned to leave with the rest of the nobles. When they all left, the princess turned to me.

"I think Luna should be here too. I'm sure she will want to say goodbye as well."

"Very well. I'll return with her shortly." Celestia disappeared in a flash and less than a minute later returned with Luna.

"Now that we are both here, I presume goodbyes are in order."

"Not yet Princess. I want you and Luna to do something for me first."

"What do you need?"

"Celestia, I want you to write down all you know about humans and categorize it. Nothing super detailed, but a vague history lesson or sorts. I owe a writer pony named Ink Blot an interview that I won't be able to give."

"This will take some time."

"There is no rush. If you would send her a letter explaining my absence and then send her the papers when you are finished, that will he enough."

"Alright. I believe I can do that."

"Thank you." I pull six bottles from my bag. "Now Luna, I would ask that you enchant these bottles with the ability to produce moon water." Luna gasped when I mentioned the fabled water.

"How do you know about that?"

"Dad. He explained a few things about the Eternal Realm to me before leaving for Earth. Moon water and the water from the Lake of Valor are the only things that can be consumed in the Eternal Realm. Without it, we will die in a matter of hours."

"I... I can do that. Though it will take a few minutes to complete the spell."

"No problem. After you have finished, we will leave." Luna nodded and took the bottles from my hand. She set them on the floor and started the spell.

We waited a few minutes in silence while Luna finished weaving her spell. When the glow on her horn finally died down, she was visibly more exhausted, but handed the bottles back. Judging by their weight, they were now full.

"It is-"

"AHHHH!" The sudden scream of a pony diverted our attention to the doors. A white unicorn came running, at full speed, right for us. She had a purple mane and three gems... for a... cutie mark...

"Rarity?" She crashed into me at full speed, luckily with her head tilted to the side a bit. I wasn't really fond of finding out what being stabbed by a unicorn horn felt like.

"Rarity, what are you doing here?" She looked up at me and I knew something was wrong. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot from crying. Tear stains matted the fur underneath her eyes. Her mane was wild and frizzy, much like her tail.

"It's..."

"What happened?"

"Somepony burnt my boutique to the ground!"

"Rarity... it will be alright. You can always rebuild-"

"I don't care about the boutique! Sweetie Bell... she was inside when it burnt down! She died!"

* * *

After Rarity's terrible news, the task I asked of Celestia, and everypony saying goodbye... Needless to say, Day Court was cancelled. Fluttershy and Applejack were crying like newborns after hearing that Rarity's sister was dead. The others tried their best to stay strong, but ultimately failed. Even Rainbow Dash, the tough pony, was silently shedding tears. Though, due to the loss of a friend, it's not surprising.

"Rarity, I know that there is nothing I can say that will make this feel any better, but it will be okay, trust me."

"It won't! You don't understand what it's like to lose somepony close to you!"

I sighed and took off my backpack. Setting it on the ground, I carefully rolled up my pant leg until my calf was visible. "Trust me when I say I do. This is everyone who has been close to me that has died." Rarity cautiously moved to see my leg. I turned to the princesses. "Could I ask one more favor? You know how I got these right? Could you put the two on that I'm missing?" Celestia nodded and lowered her horn to my leg. I felt a burning sensation and then it faded. I looked down to see the name of my friend Alex. Right below his name was Sweetie Bell.

"This is..."

"If she was important to you Rarity, then she is important to me. The least I can do is honor her name."

Rarity started to tear up even more and she grasped me around my middle in a firm embrace. I returned the gesture.

"Thank you Issac. I... I have a favor to ask of you... if you would let me... could I accompany you as well?" I smiled down at the unicorn. Who was I to deny her one thing? She just lost her home, her business, and her family. I think I can bend my own rules regarding the matter.

"Of course you can. Luna, could you do one more bottle?" She nodded and I gave her another bottle from my pack. She enchanted it and placed it in my bag. I passed out the bottles to the present ponies, excluding the princesses, and they strapped them onto, or put them in, their saddlebags, provided to them by myself.

"Remember that this water is the only thing that will keep you alive in the Eternal Realm. If you feel thirsty or hungry at all, drink some of the water. You can sustain yourself on it alone. If you want to say goodbye to the princesses, now is the time to do so."

The ponies surrounded the princesses. Many hugs and tears were shared between them. Soon after, they all stepped away and I approached the princesses.

"Thank you Celestia and Luna for helping me with everything. I owe you a lot."

Celestia shook her head. "Don't be silly Issac. You owe us nothing. Of anything, we owe you."

"My sister is right Issac, we owe you a great many thanks for what you are doing. We won't forget this." Luna braced me with one leg and I returned it with enthusiasm.

"Don't worry about it. I'm ready for this. I know what I have to do." Luna released me from her embrace and Celestia took her place.

"We will miss you Issac. Though we may not have known each other for very long, know that we love you very much and we won't forget you."

"Hold on princess." Rainbow Dash interjected, floating up to meet me at eye level. "You say that like you will never see him again. He might die, but that doesn't mean he will." Celestia bows her head in shame. I sigh audibly.

"There is something I haven't told you girls yet..."

* * *

They sat in silence. No words were spoken, no nervously coughing, nor any throat clearing. Just silence. As I looked at the ponies sitting before me, they were almost absolutely still. I told them my plan and what was going to happen, in a worst case scenario. I wasn't exactly wanting them to find out like this, but it couldn't be helped when Rainbow Dash said what she did.

"Girls, it has to be considered. I could very well die at any point in this journey. We can be as optimistic as we want to, but we have to consider everything. Twilight, you're a logical thinker. You can't tell me that I'm wrong about this."

Twilight mumbled quietly to herself. "Anyways, there is no point in moping about here. Dad can only hold the portal open for so long before it closes. It will take a few days to reopen and by then it will be too late to save Equestria. If you still want to go, come with me now. If you choose to stay, the princesses will erase your memories."

I hitched my bag farther up my shoulder and turned to leave the room. As I reached the hallway, I could here the faint and sluggish clop of hooves on the floor. I know it may seem cruel, making them choose between a life threatening journey and losing your friends, but it must be done. For Equestria's sake.

At the end if the hallway stood a large opening. Unlike the opening to a room, where the change was defined and absolute, this opening seemed to blend with the castle. Almost as if black were fading to white. The change is minute and in incredibly small increments, I could almost swear that this was just an extension of the hallway, however, due to what was on the other side, I knew better than to think such things.

Stepping over into the Eternal Realm wasn't much different either. At first I felt nothing, just like changing rooms in a house. After a while though, I could start to feel a pressure building inside of myself, deep in my soul. There was a tension in the air that could be felt just by breathing. It was enough to give me shivers.

Once the shivering stopped, I turned around to see if the ponies followed me, and sure enough, all six of them stood still, waiting for me to tell them what to do. I could understand and respect that, they knew absolutely nothing about the place and its workings.

"This is the Eternal Realm." I turn back around and see a lake full of gold water shimmering in the distance. "Can you are the lake out in the distance?" I pointed in the direction of the lake.

The girls nodded in affirmation. "Good. We have one day to reach and traverse the lake. If what my dad said is right, them we have three more junctions before the palace. Re must be a the palace on the last day, or we won't have enough time to use The Ring." The girls nodded once more.

I'm assuming that it's the environment that disturbed them the most.

The ground was cracked and gravely, heavily scorched with flames. Trenches scarred the ground every so often. Some of them had a black liquid in them, others were empty. The worst part was the bodies. Random bodies were scattered throughout the entire area, as far as I could see. Ponies, griffins, dragons, and even some humans. All of the bodies were burnt and torn from vicious claw marks. Several had puncture wounds the size of a fist.

"Don't worry." I tell the girls, trying to ease their minds the best I can. The worry on their faces was blatantly obvious. "Everything will turn out alright. Now, we should get a move on towards the lake. The more ground we cover the better." Once again, I only receive a nod in response.

* * *

Endless walking. My journey of great danger is just a lot of walking... I have to admit, I'm kind of disappointed. I was expecting clashes and brawls of epic proportions every step of the way, especially when I pose a threat against Silence. No such luck.

We took a small break a little ways after the halfway point of our walk.

"My aching hooves!" Rarity cried out and slumped onto the ground. Rainbow Dash gave up on flying the whole way and resorted to walking with the rest of us. The others seemed physically wore out, but they didn't voice their complaints.

"Drink your moon water, it should help a little bit. It has healing property that should dull the pain a bit." Rarity nodded at unscrewed the bottle cap. She took a drink and immediately pulled back in surprise.

"My word! It tastes marvelous!" She quickly took another drink.

"It is supposed to taste different to each person, or pony in your case. Whatever you find most pleasant." I leaned back and rested my head on my bag. Five days. We have five days.

I turned my head to look in the direction of the lake. It seemed to be an impossibility. We couldn't even see the palace yet. I heaved a sigh and picked myself off the ground.

"We better get moving. We can't be late."

 **-Earth, Hannah POV-**

"I think we should go to my place. If what Isaac's dad said was true, we should try and find out how to help him using that charm. More people means more brainpower." Sarah nodded in agreement along with Josh. "But first, maybe you should call your parents." Josh chuckled and nodded again, pulling out his phone and walking away from me and Sarah. I turned to Sarah who was fumbling with her own phone.

"Hey... are you okay? You seem pretty shaken up by all of this."

Sarah let out a shaky breath. "I'll be fine."

"You know it isn't your fault. Issac is a good person. He would have left regardless of what any of us would have said or done. Someone needed his help, so he went to go help them."

"I know."

"Remember when he helped us? We were only fourteen years old..."

 **-Flashback, 3 Years Ago-**

It was dark. So very dark. Sarah and I were running as fast as we could, but they were faster.

They pushed us into a nearby alley. The leader pulled a knife out and pointed it at us.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Please don't hurt us! We won't tell anyone, please just let us go!"

The man with the knife just laughed at us. "Now why would we do that?" Sarah started screaming loudly. The man grabbed her around the throat and pushed her against a wall. "Now now missy, we wouldn't want to let anyone know about this, now would we?"

"Leave them alone." The man turned around and his face met Isaac's fist. The others punched and kicked viciously at Issac, but Issac ignored the pain and kept standing against them. Eventually the guys had ran away or were unconscious on the ground.

Issac turned to look at us. The look on his face was one of pure indifference. Like he didn't care either way what happened to us. Then it broke. It morphed into something familiar and welcome. Relief.

"I'm glad you two are alright. What are you doing out here at this time of night anyways?"

"...B-bleeding..." Sarah pointed to Issac. His shirt was torn and a cut ran along his stomach. Isaac looked down and just shrugged.

"I'll be fine. First we need to get you home."

 **-Eternal Realm, Issac POV-**

Finally we had reached the lake. The golden water shimmered in the dim light provided by the sun. The girls looked at the lake in both awe and wonder.

I smiled at their naivety. From what dad told me, anything and everything in this place can kill us. Even the air can mysteriously solidify, suffocating anyone unlucky enough to be around it at the time.

I kneeled on the edge of the golden lake and ran my hand over the surface of its water. The ripples ran along the surface in its entirety.

Even if I won't ever see it again, or that I barely know of it and its existence, I feel that the lake and I share a bond. I feel it reacting to my emotions and it, in return, gives off a feeling of hope.

"Hello friend." I whisper to the water. The ripples slowly fade into nothingness and the surface becomes still once again. I stand up and dust off my pants. I turn to the girls, still admiring the lake, and gesture towards its golden waters.

"Welcome. Welcome to the Lake of Valor."


	12. Chapter 12: Scary Days and Silent Nights

**Disclaimer:** I don't own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I do however own all of the OC's in the story unless stated otherwise. I also don't own Rubik's cubes. Or Xbox.

 **AN: IMPORTANT!** Welcome back everypony! I have some good news and some bad news. I am going to start writing a novel, and I plan on getting it self published. I have a few friends and family who already want to buy it and the list grows everyday. Woo hoo! The bad news is that after From Sadness comes Sadness is finished, I will be postponing all stories until my novel is finished. I believe from the start to the finish of the whole process will take three months. After the writing portion is done, I will start back up on my stories. Enjoy chapter 12!

* * *

 **Chapter 12: Scary Days and Silent Nights**

 **-Equestria, Princess Luna POV-**

"Very well, I will inform my sister and your proposal will be considered."

"Thank you Princess Luna." The noble pony bowed to me and left the throne room. I sighed. Finally court was over. I could relax and possibly even nap before the new night began.

"Princess!" Apparently there will be no rest for the royal. "Canterlot is being attacked!" My head snapped up to a pony running full speed at myself. This pony was the noble from earlier, but with a distinct feature difference. He was missing an eye.

Blood poured from the socket like a scarlet waterfall, never ending and constant. As he ran, his blood left a trail behind him.

The blood from his eye, or lack thereof, ran down his front and onto his hooves. Less than ten fleet from the steps to the throne, he slipped and crashed forward, sliding at an incredible speed until...

CRUNCH!

A sickening crunch filled the throne room, reverberating off of everything. His body lay still, his head positioned at an awkward angle, at the base of the stairs.

I could do nothing but sit in silence, staring at the corpse of one of my subjects. I felt my weariness and fatigue melt away, quickly replaced by anger and hatred. Whoever did this... will be sorry.

"Alert my sister at once! Tell her to meet me in Canterlot immediately!" I yelled at the stunned guards, who were, still staring at the corpse of the noble pony. They nodded hastily, hearing the tone of my voice. They quickly galloped away towards my sisters sleeping chamber.

If the situation was truly this dire, I couldn't afford to wait for Celestia. I must take action now.

I run towards the palace doors, bursting through them to look upon the destruction that had befallen Canterlot... and I almost cried at the sight of it.

Countless ponies lay dead in the streets. Many more were running chaotically throughout the sea of bodies, screaming loudly. Buildings were on fire and trees were uprooted. As I saw all of this unfold before my eyes, a foal hobbled up to me. His left ear was missing, along with most of the fur on his back and face. Blood poo red from one eye and his nose. He opened his mouth to say something, but couldn't speak. His tongue was ripped out as well.

He fell over, dead, and lay at my feet.

I vomited where I stood. How did our peaceful society become this? How does a pit it fear, hatred, and malevolence spawn from a loving and compassionate race? I just wish that Celestia were here to comfort me threw this. She would know what to do.

"My little ponies, do not be afraid. We will protect Canterlot and its inhabitants with our lives. I swear this to you." I called out to the mass of ponies, but they didn't respond. Celestia always had a way with ponies that I never did. I need her to help calm the crowds.

Speaking of which, where is she? The guards should have given her word by now. I will just have to check for myself to see what has her held up.

I give Canterlot one more glimpse before breaking into a run for my sisters bed chamber.

* * *

My hooves were heavy with fear and my mind with regret. Fear of losing anymore precious lives. Regret for not being capable of saving them in the first place.

It seems to be slowing me down, so I tried running faster. I have to reach Celestia. She will tell me what to do. I turned the next corner, leaving me one step closer to my sister.

The faint yells of ponies echoed off of the palace walls. I could hear them coming from the direction of Celestia's room.

I rounded yet another corner. The voices grew louder as I closed in in their spurce. What could be the cause of such ruckus? Was there some threat inside the castle? Was it trying to kill my sister? I pressed my hooves harder into the floor, picking up speed.

The last corner came and I made the turn. Many ponies were gathered outside of her room. They all looked horrified by what they saw. Their bodies pressed against the wall opposite the door to put as much distance between themselves and... whatever it was, as they could.

I approached the door with caution and stopped before I reached it. I could hear... a rope? The squealing of a door was definitely in the room, but what could make a rope squeak like that? It was odd at the very least. I peeked inside the doorway.

I immediately wished I hadn't. All I can remember is my screaming.

Screaming until my lungs wanted to burst and my throat was raw. I have never seen anything so terrifying in my life and never again will I experience something like this again. I have tried to represses the things I have seen to the best of my ability, but even now... even now, the limp white body of my sister hanging in the air... it haunts me.

 **-Lake of Valor, Issac POV-**

Everyone sat still at the waters edge, basking in the glow of the setting sun. Perhaps the journey wouldn't be as bad as I first thought.

Dad and the princesses made it seem like this task would take its toll on us, crushing our will and crumbling our sanity, until nothing remained but a hollow shell. So far we have done nothing but walk. Our first day was just walking. Kind of takes the pressure off.

"Hey Issac..." I turn to face Rainbow Dash who, by the looks of her slightly blushing face and twitching tail, had something embarrassing to say.

"What is it Rainbow?"

"I... I want you to know something... before we go any further. It's something that just needs to be said or I'm going to explode."

"I think I know what it is you want to say, and I'm not mad or anything. You know I won't be around much longer anyways. Either I die or I go home, so even if I wanted to, I couldn't return the sentiment."

Rainbow bowed her head slightly. "I know... but I still had to tell you."

"I understand. I felt the same way at one point with someone else."

"You did?" By now the other girls were looking between us, looks of both curiosity and confusion between them all. Applejack was the only one who understood what Rainbow meant. Just like before, I'm fairly certain that she has feelings for me as well.

"Yeah I did. Enough about that though, why don't we talk about something more... I don't know, happy?" I looked around out group to see if they had any answers. None of them said anything. "Alright then, if all the talking is done, you might as well get some rest. You don't want to be tired for the lake crossing, and who knows when we will get to rest again."

I lean back onto my bag and close my eyes. I, at least, was going to get some rest. Physically I may be fine, but mentally, I'm exhausted. Too much has happened in too little a time frame.

I heave a sigh before turning on my side. Hopefully some sleep will do me some good.

* * *

Sleep is a bad thing. Sleep gives people nightmares which scares the crap out of them. Nothing good can come from sleep.

I awoke with a start, breathing heavily and drenched in cold sweat. I grabbed my head as it throbbed in dull pain. The dream... what was it... I can't remember... wait, the princesses were there too! I remember now... bit now that I do, I want to forget.

 **-Issac's Dream, Issac POV-**

This fucking castle again. I stare up at the monstrosity that loomed before me. It was the same one that I saw in the first dream with Silence I had. However, it seems to have deteriorated since last I saw it. Moss grew up the walls and several holes punched through to the interior.

I walked towards the entrance, wary of my surroundings lest Silence or some other demonic being show up. Rocks ground together under my feet breaking the quiet that surrounded this fortress of solitude.

I pushed the doors open with hesitancy and stepped inside.

The inside was much like the outside. The place was in shambles, vines growing every which way, blanketing the walls and floor. Other than its condition, it was nearly a carbon copy of the throne room in Canterlot.

I looked to thee far end of the room where the thrones would be and saw the princesses there.

"Thank heaven! I thought I was alone in this fucked up place again. It's nice to see a... friendly... face." I stopped before the thrones and was shown a closer view of the princesses faces.

The princesses were dead. I could easily see it and and the smell was incredibly strong up close. Patches of their fur were completely gone. There were several burns along their bodies, all blistering and oozing a foul stench. Maggots burrowed through them, occasionally crawling out of one hole and into another.

I stumbled backwards in surprise and disgust. Who could do such a thing to them? What warranted such a malicious torture?

"Silence."

"Bingo! Looks like you win!" I wheel around and see the familiar, shadowy form of that despicable thing. "Now, your prize is painful torment followed by slow, agonizing death. Are you ready to receive my most generous prize?"

"I'm not in the mood for a prize. Perhaps you would like it in my stead." His form flickered in and out of existence, slowly morphing into the humanoid being that fought the princesses and my dad at the castle.

He cracked a grin larger than his already permanent one. "I would love to accept, but I'm afraid you can't give this prize away." He calmly shuffled towards me, backing me onto the steps to the thrones. "It would be a shame to throw it away."

"I don't want the stupid prize dammit!"

"I'm not talking about the prize."

"Then what the hell are you talking about."

His grin grew even wider, as if it were physically possible. "Your life." He pinged at me with a snarl.

I jumped out of harms way, but landed on the steps wrong and tumbled down them, crashing in a heap at the bottom. A searing pain shot up my leg when I landed. I definitely broke something.

I pushed myself to my knees with much effort, looking up to see Silence walking towards down the steps.

"It's hopeless. You can not beat me. Even if you learned how to use all of your powers and somehow were able to master them in less than five days, your naivety towards those around you and those you consider your friends leaves you blind to your own weaknesses."

"Shut the hell up!"

"Lanluta will not help you. She helps no one. Your journey is pointless. You would be better off sitting at the lake and enjoying your last few days of peace."

"I can't do that. Ponies are counting on me. Everyone is counting on me. I have to stop you. Your plan for seizing the throne will only lead to the destruction of everything. You must know that this is wrong."

His grin turned into something resembling a sneer. "This is the only way we can have peace. If nothing exists then there can be no conflict. You, nor anyone else has the power to stop me."

I tried pushing myself to my feet, but was stopped by Silence's foot. I grunted under the pressure, but despite the pain, I pushed against his foot, trying to pull myself up. He raised his foot from my back for just a moment before slamming it into my shoulder. I heard the snap of bone come from my shoulder.

I cried out at the pain, but that just caused Silence to laugh.

"Resistance is pointless. Give up or die, you have ten seconds to decide."

"Fuck you!"

"Ten..."

"You piece of shit!"

"Nine..."

Okay Issac, take a deep breath and calm down. There has to be a way out of this.

"Eight..."

This is just a dream. A terrible, terrible dream. This is my mind, do I should be able to escape without a problem.

"Seven..."

It's not real. None of this is real. It's just a figment of my imagination. I can beat Silence. I will beat Silence.

"One..." He moved his foot from my shoulder to my head. "Sweet dreams Issac." His foot came crashing through my skull. The last thing I saw was his grinning face.

 **-Present Day, Issac POV-**

"Issac!" I shook my head and looked up at Twilight who was standing over me with a scared expression etched on her face. The others around her didn't look much better in terms of fear factor.

"What's wrong?"

"You were laying there staring into space. We tried to get your attention, but you wouldn't respond. You've been like that for an hour."

"Oh." I hadn't realized so much time had passed since I recalled my dream. "Well I'm fine now. Let's get moving." I stood up and brushed myself off before grabbing my bag. "Equestria won't save itself you know." The girls put their saddlebags on as well and we set off around the lake.

As we were walking, Rarity piped up and asked me a question. "Issac, what happens when we arrive at the palace?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we must get this 'Ring' from Lanluta and use it to stop Silence, but how are we supposed to do that?"

"I'm wondering the same thing myself." Twilight spoke up before I could answer. "We don't have anything that could be valuable enough to trade for the Ring, and we don't plan on killing her... right?"

"No, we won't kill Lanluta. Even if we could, it would be pointless because I already have something that we can give her."

"Really? What is it?"

"I can't tell you. You'll see when we get to the palace." Twilight frowned at my response, but didn't say anything else.

"Hey what's that!" Rainbow Dash flew up a few feet and pointed out past the lake towards a mountain peak.

"That is the Eternal Mountain, the resting place of the palace. It's near the bottom of the mountain itself."

"So we are going there next?"

"Not quite yet. First we have to finish going around the lake. Then through the Field of the Departed. Everything that dies ends up their. People, ponies, animals, even plants. Humans call it Hell, but I'm pretty sure you ponies have a name for such a place."

The ponies looked at each other in silence. Twilight's face grew dark with realization as to what I was referring to.

"...Tartarus? We are going to have to walk through Tartarus?" The others gave mere a look of fear and bewilderment. I nodded and their faces fell. Our walk continued on in silence.

 **-Earth, Hannah POV-**

"I remember."

"Yeah, he was so brave. He could have been killed, but he still stayed to protect us."

Sarah stared at the pendant in her hand. "You think... we should get everyone else?"

"What?"

"All of Issac's friends, should we tell them too?"

"I... I don't know. Let's just go home first. It's been a long day and we need to read the letter that Issac's dad gave us." Sarah nodded and finished texting on her phone.

"I can't stay. Mom and dad are pissed that I've been gone this long so I need to head home. I will come over tomorrow, as soon as I can." Josh gave both Sarah and myself a hug before jogging away.

"Come on Sarah." I grabbed her hand and pulled her along. "It's time to go save Issac."

* * *

"Mom! I'm home!" I called up the stairs when we walked inside my house. "We will be out in the backyard!" I pulled Sarah along towards the back of the house. When we went outside, we were met with a chilly breeze.

"Okay, let's read the letter." We sat on the porch steps and unfolded the piece of paper.

 _Dear Friends,_

 _I know you are probably wondering just where in the hell have I gone, but don't worry. I'm in Equestria, a place only reachable by magic. I know, I know, it sounds crazy, but I'm telling the truth._

 _Princess Celestia and Princess Luna asked me to come here because their land was infested with an evil power. I am the only one who can destroy this power and return things to the way they were._

 _I'm sad to say that I won't be coming back. I have decided that putting others lives before my own is more important than letting them die due to my selfishness. Don't be sad when you read this. I have accepted my fate. I have spoken with both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna on the matter. They both protested, but I still plan on doing what is necessary._

 _This will be the last time you hear from me, so I might as well say a few words._

 _Alex. I'm sorry that I couldn't help you. I wish that there wa_ s s _omething I could have done to pull you back from that pit of despair. Your friends miss you and we will never forget you._

 _Josh. I still don't forgive you for stealing my sandwich in middle school. I hope it tasted good you bastard. Seriously though, you are a good friend and I will miss you._

 _Daniel. I hope that you will finally get married and live that peaceful life you always dreamed of._

 _Bridget. I can feel in my heart that your brother is alright. I know you worry about him, but you shouldn't. He will come home._

 _Tom. I know you won't read this, but you better come home. For your sisters sake. She misses you._

 _Alice. There is nothing I can do to bring you back, but just know that the man who killed you will be brought to justice. One way or another._

 _Sarah. Knowing you, you are probably crying. Don't. Just don't. Everything will be okay. I promise you that. I will miss you so much, but just because I'm not there, doesn't mean that I'm not in your heart._

 _Hannah. I don't even know how to tell you how I feel. We have been friends for a long time and I never wanted that to end, so I hid my feelings from you. I love you Hannah. Honestly, I will miss you the most. Take care of Sarah for me. Remember my old saying? Live for the moments and love forever, because when it all ends, you can tell life was worth it by the moments spent with the ones you love. I know now that life was worth it because I had you by my side._

 _Take care everyone. Live and love until we meet again._

Yours truly, Issac

I blinked the tears away from my eyes as I finished reading. I can't believe he loved me too. I feel like such a fool for not telling him how I felt before. Looking over at Sarah, I can see her crying too. I know that she likes Issac, so I can imagine that it hurt to know that Issac didn't like her, but rather he loved me.

"Hannah..."

"Yeah Sarah?"

"I want to see Issac again."

I pulled her into my chest and she started crying harder. I sighed and stared up into the night sky. "Me too Sarah. Me too."


	13. Chapter 13: Ponies and People

**Disclaimer:** I don't own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I do however own all of the OC's in the story unless stated otherwise. I also don't own Rubik's cubes. Or Xbox.

 **AN:** Welcome back everypony! First off, if you read this far, thank you so much. Secondly, if you did read last chapters AN, you know about my novel. I'm writing it in memory of my grandmother who passed away last year. Wish me luck with it!

Finally, this is the second to last chapter of From Sadness comes Sadness. Chapter 14 will be the final one. I will include an epilogue as "chapter 15", so if you have any unanswered questions that you believe should be answered, either review or PM me and I will try and answer them to the best of my ability. I give you one week for your questions, then the last chapter and epilogue will be posted. Enjoy this chapter!

 **Chapter 13: Ponies and People**

 **-Eternal Realm, Issac POV-**

How much longer! Without a doubt, the tension in the air was growing thicker. At times it even felt as though I couldn't breath. We were going to Hell. It was an undeniable fact.

The girls tries to talk me into going around instead of through it, but to reach the Eternal Palace you must cross one of, if not the most, foreboding obstacles that the universe can throw at you.

Eternal damnation.

I slumped my shoulders and sighed. I want to believe that the girls are capable of handling themselves in a situation like this, but they are used to smaller scale conflicts. Crossing the underworld was definitely not am everyday occurrence, even in a land ruled by magic and talking ponies.

I hope nothing too bad happens as the seven of us pass through Hell. The last thing I need is to have to deal with a mentally unstable pony for the rest of the trip, all because they saw a ghost.

I hunch over even further and sigh again. This isn't going to end well.

"How much further until we get there?" Fluttershy, surprisingly, spoke up after almost absolute silence for the past day. I stared at the timid pegasus, wondering the exact same thing myself not moments ago.

"I'm not exactly sure, but I would think within the hour. I can see pillars in the distance." I pointed out towards the horizon. Their gazes followed my hand and fell upon the pillars. There were quite a few of them gathered on a small spot. It was hard to tell from this distance, but they seemed to be several times taller than myself. Several jagged rocks spiked outwards off of the main body, all of them colored black. The rest of the pillar was a sickly green color. Strangely enough, it seemed almost... familiar.

"So what are we going to have to do in there?"

"I don't understand what you mean." Rainbow Dash's question confused me. We don't have anything to do there, we just need to get through it as quickly as possible.

"I know we aren't just going to walk by without any trouble. Can anything in there hurt us?"

"Rainbow, I know you are just looking out for the well being of the group, but we are walking into Tartarus. Everything in there should try and kill us if all of the writings are correct." Twilight shook her head at her polychromatic friend. "I understand your concern, but it is going to be hard on all of us to get through, mentally as well as physically."

"So like, what kind of things are we going to find in there?"

"Demons, departed souls, Guardians... and Eternals. If Silence really did murder all of them, we might run into one by chance. If that happens, be prepared to run at a moments notice." I explain to the ponies the dangerous beings that inhabit the hellish landscape.

Twilight gave me a look of absolute befuddlement. "Why? Aren't they on our side?"

"In life yes, but in death perhaps not. They might try and seek revenge by killing a living being that walks through the field that they can never leave."

"Oh." We continued on in silence. Once again my thoughts went roaming whilst my feet went on auto pilot.

Dad mentioned something about the key to me, saying how its power lies in its ability to kill anything in an instant. If that truly was the case, I wonder if its power can be used to revive the dead. Magic in all the worlds is advanced beyond what many thought was possible, but never before has someone been brought back to life. If I could bring back the dead... perhaps everything will go back to normal.

Without any warning, I felt a huge drop in the temperature. I suddenly had the urge that I was being watched by something. I turned in all directions and saw no one, but I did see something else of importance.

"Welcome to Hell." I gestured at the landscape behind me. "After you cross this point, we will be helpless to the evils that this place can conjure up. If you want to rest, now is probably the best time to do so." I noticed that the girls were trembling, with cold or fear I'm not exactly certain.

The pillars the distance from earlier were now surrounding us. A closer look gave me the sight of bodies plastered to the spikes. Many were missing limbs, while others were completely torn in half, leaving the not pinned bit laying on the ground, rotting and filling the air with the stench of death.

I hope that no complications arise, because honestly, I don't know if the ponies cab take any more of it. Poor Fluttershy was trembling so bad she could hardly stand. The others weren't much better, but she was by far the most affected.

"I think we should rest for now. It would do us good to gather our bearings before continuing." Twilight spoke up for the group, all the while giving Fluttershy concerned glances.

"I agree. We must not go on until we have had a good sit down. My hooves are killing me."

"Rarity?" The group froze at the name of the white unicorn. Not one of us called to her, so that means...

"Rarity, is that you?" I slowly turn towards the cold expanse, and see a foal standing not thirty feet away from us. She had a white coat and her mane was a mix of purple and pink.

Rarity stood up and took a few cautious steps towards the new arrival. The next words that came from her mouth took me completely by surprise.

"Sweetie Bell? Is that you?"

 **-Equestria, Luna POV-**

The palace was in an uproar. News of my sisters death spread like wildfire throughout the staff and guards. I ordered a full lock down of the palace to keep that information from the public, but it would only serve to provide a few days of insurance.

The picture of her limp form hanging... I can't erase that image from my mind. It was impossible to believe that she would do such a thing. It had to be a set up by Silence.

I slumped as I sat in the throne room, many of the staff and guards were already present. I had summoned them here about the death of Celestia.

Waiting for the rest of the ponied to arrive. I couldn't help but notice each one of them had the same look on their face. Varying degrees could be pocked out from amongst them, but the look was still the same.

Fear.

Something that these ponied had yet to truly experience in their lifetime. With the exception of Discord and Nightmare Moon, not much in the way if 'evil' has happened in nearly two hundred years. It was hard to think about what these ponies must be feeling right now, with a leader gone and the city in chaos.

"Princess, everypony has arrived." The guards words jostled me from troubled thoughts.

"Thank you." The guards bowed and stepped back into the crowd.

"Ponies!" The mass of ponies before me fell silent at my proclamation. "By now you all know of my sisters tragic death. I will not lie to you and say everything will be alright. Her death affects us all... even myself. However, I must ask you one thing.

Currently, our friend and relative, Issac Minx is traveling with the Elements of Harmony to a far off place. He will return in three days or not at all. With him he will bring back an object of unimaginable power, beyond what even Celestia and I have. This has the power to save Equestria and possibly bring my sister back. Until those three days have passed, I ask that the death of my sister be kept away from the ponies outside of these walls. We don't need anymore chaos plaguing Equestria, and I'm certain that the knowledge of the death of one of your leaders will throw everypony into a panic, more so than they already are.

After those three days have passed, either Issac will have returned... or Equestria will die."

The ponies in front of me kept silent after I told them that Equestria might die in a matter of days. I don't blame them, it is quite a load to bear at a time like this.

"Princess?" One of the ponies came forward and bowed.

"Yes?"

"What are we supposed to do until this passes?"

"Resume your duties until then. However, stay out of the eastern wing second floor corridor, where my sister was found. There may be evidence of who was responsible for this. My sister would never have done this to her subjects. You are all dismissed."

The ponies all shuffle like turtles out of the throne room, whispering incoherent things to each other. I sighed as they filed out, wanting to scream loudly, but unable to for fear of my subjects reactions.

If only you were still here sister. Perhaps you would know what is best for the kingdom. Without Celestia around, it became quite a difficult task to keep up with daily needs and such, and I have only been alone for an hour or so.

I stare out one of the stained windows, watching helplessly as the city falls into chaos. "Please hurry Issac."

 **-Earth, Hannah POV-**

We sat in silence for a few minutes, keeping the letter between us. I didn't want to believe that Issac was not coming back. I couldn't believe it. I'm sure that Sarah felt the same way.

"What should we do now?" I glanced at Sarah who, now finished crying, was staring at the pendant in her hand.

"Issac's dad said that everything must return to the earth eventually, right? He gave you that pendant to help Issac, so what does he mean by 'return to the earth'?"

I sat and pondered over his final words before leaving. Could it mean we have to go underground? That wouldn't make any sense though. Unless he expects us to dig a hole, we can't be much farther down than this.

"Hey Hannah. This pendant is made of wood."

I turn to look at it. It was definitely made of wood, but what does that matter?

"Yeah, so?"

"So wood comes from trees. Trees grow from seeds. Seeds are planted..." It suddenly hit me, like a freight train at full speed.

"...underground! That's it! So we have to bury the pendant!" I jump off of the porch stairs and run into the yard. Finding a soft patch of dirt, I savagely pull at it with my hands until a well is formed. "Quick Sarah! Give me the pendant!"

Sarah sauntered over to me and hastily gave me said pendant. I dropped it into the hole and covered it with the dirt that was removed.

We held our breath and waited for something to happen. One minute passed. Then two minutes. Then five. I was becoming frustrated at the lack of response from the pendant and all but gave up, when suddenly...

"Hannah! It's glowing!" I looked down at the pile and scooted away. It was indeed glowing. Effortlessly, a twig poked its way to the surface. It grew taller and taller before I noticed it was almost as big as our cherry trees. What was interesting about the tree is that it grew in two separate parts, almost like two trees planted right next to each other.

When it finally stopped, it stood over 25 feet tall easily. Its leaves were a sickly green. The bark was rough and cracked, colored as black as the night sky. The gap in the center was big enough for a person to walk through. All in all, it gave me the creeps.

"Hannah? What is that?" I looked to where Sarah was pointing and almost screamed.

"Isaac?"

 **-Eternal Realm, Issac POV-**

"Sweetie Bell! I'm so glad to see you!" Rarity began to move towards her sister, but I moved in front of her.

"Issac? What are you doing?"

"That isn't Sweetie Bell."

Rarity and the rest gave me a confused look. "But of course she is darling. I think I would know my own sister when I see her."

"It isn't your sister. Your sister would have a soul too weak to last long here on her own. The fact that she is perfectly unharmed is suspicious. That can only be another one of the deceased that absorbed her soul."

"Issac? Are you sure? That has to be my Sweetie. She can't possibly be a demon."

"Them ask her something only Sweetie would know. When a demon absorbs the soul, they don't absorb memories."

"Issac..."

"Do it now, or I'll kill it! I'm not going to let you die because you are too blind to believe it can't be her!" My sudden outburst acres the rest of the ponies into submission, but Rarity stood firm.

"I will not be treated like this! That is my sister and I will prove it!" Rarity pushed past me and trotted up to "Sweetie", giving her a hug. The filly returned it in earnest.

"I'm so glad I found you Rarity."

"Me too Sweetie."

"I hope you taste as good as Sweetie did."

"Wha- AAHHH!" Sweetie's face morphed into something sinister. She opened her mouth, unnaturally wide, and took a chunk out of Rarity's neck. Rarity's screams soon became gurgles as the life flew out if her in the form of red rivers.

The others screamed and backed away, too frightened to do anything. I took a step forward and raised my hands. Focusing intently, I shot a beam of light at the imposter, hitting it full in the face. It screamed in agony, falling to the ground and writhing in pain. After a moment, its body seized up and slowly turned to dust.

The girls were crying at this point, completely unaware of another approaching soul. I turned to the the next invader, fully prepared to blow their face off too, when I saw who it was. I slowly lowered my hand and said two words that snapped the ponies out of their fit.

"Princess Celestia?"

* * *

"This will take a while to explain, so I suggest you sit down." The princess's arrival was certainly unexpected, but not unwelcome. Though, her being a spirit only meant bad things for Equestria.

"Princess, what are you doing here?" As everypony and myself gathered around Celestia, Twilight asked the same question that was on my mind.

"I am now a part of this world. Silence tricked me and I was killed in Equestria. My body was made to have it look like a suicide, but that is not the case. Without both halves of the diarchy, Equestria will be thrown into chaos. Even if Silence loses, he still will have won.

Luna is on the verge of a breakdown with all if her responsibilities. I have seen it with what is left of my powers. She does her best to keep my death hidden from the outside, but Canterlot is already in a panicked state. Silence attacked them not long after my death. The rioting will consume the lives of everypony in Canterlot within a few days at most.

I must ask you, Issac, to do the one thing I had hoped to avoid. Please, I beg you, for Equestria's sake, return things to the way they were. You don't have to gives back my life, but the ponies of Canterlot are innocent. They do not deserve what is happening to them."

The girls sat in silence, their haws hanging open. Apparently, royalty doesn't beg too often.

"Celestia, it goes without saying. I will do what you as of me. You will have your life back. As well as Rarity." Celestia grimaced and turned to look at Rarity's mangled corpse. I couldn't find it in myself to look at it. I should have stopped her before age hugged that thing.

"Thank you Issac. What happens today will be preserved in our history books for eternity."

"Hold on a minute." Rainbow Dash interjected on the conversation. "I'm confused."

"Same here. Ah don't really understand what y'all mean by what Issac does. What's he gonna do?"

"Remember the reason we came here?" I looked at the ponies around me.

"Um... it's for The Ring, right?" Fluttershy whispered from behind her mane.

"Exactly. Now, can you remember what it does?"

Twilight perked up. "It has the power to create and destroy at the thought of its owner. At the cost of your memories, you can literally do anything."

"Right. Now what happens if you forget how to eat? If you forget how to breathe?"

"You..." Twilight's ears drooped with realization. "...die." The ponies turned to me, as if waiting for me to say 'Just Kidding! You actually win a lifetime supply of ice cream!' Their faces dropped as well when they realized what I had to do.

"You can't! There has to be another way! Why didn't you say so before!" Those were some of the intelligible comments I could pick up from the others amidst the complaints.

"I have too. With Equestria how it is, I have to fix everything. Even if I were able to defeat Silence, get The Ring, and wish for Equestria back to normal, I still have to lose a memory. What if I lose the memory of my friends. Why would I want to go back when I have no one and nothing to go back too? What if you forgot all about your friends? Would you want to be stick with them, having them heartbroken because you can't remember, while you carry on like nothing ever happened?"

The girls protests died down after that. I sighed and turned back to Celestia.

"So now what? We might not reach The Ring in time. Especially if Silence shows up."

"Let us worry about that in a few minutes." Celestia nods towards the space behind me. I turn and see two familiar faces walking through one of the pillars, which had grown transparent in the center. "First, I think a small reunion is in order."

The figures stopped where they stood wen they saw me. My eyes started to water for the first time since I thought dad had died.

"Hannah? Sarah?"

* * *

Our reunion was completely out of the blue. I was so incredibly happy to see them, but also confused as to why they were here.

"Oh my God! I can't believe you are here!" I gave them both hugs and a kiss on the cheek. "I'm wondering why though?"

"Your dad helped us." Sarah smiled at me before turning to look at my company. She did a double take and would have screamed if it wasn't for my hand covering her mouth.

"Hey it's okay. I know they are ponies, but they are on my side." I slowly pulled my hand away, but Sarah kept on staring at them. Hannah, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind them at all.

"Hello. I'm Hannah, one of Issac's friends." She squatted down to get on the same level as the ponies were. Twilight spoke up first.

"I'm Twilight Sparkle, it's nice to finally meet you." She held out her hoof and Hannah shook it.

Sarah nearly fainted after hearing her talk, but she held it together... somehow.

"Nice to meet you too Twilight." After Twilight's introduction, the others all came forward as well. Even Fluttershy poked out from behind her mane long enough to say hello. "So where exactly are we?"

"Tartarus. Issac said that humans call it Hell." Hannah and Sarah froze at Twilight's words.

"I swear it's the truth. I can't really believe if myself, but less than two weeks ago, I thought my dad was dead. Now he is alive and an immortal ruler of all the worlds."

The girls were still tense, but relaxed enough to sit with the rest of us.

"Issac, as to your earlier question, I will use the rest of my magic to transport you yo the palace. You must find Lanluta as quickly as you can. If you don't and Silence wins... there will be nothing for any living thing to go home to."

"Alright." I stood up and stretched. "Everyone should get ready then. We need to leave now."

"They will not be able to come with you." Celestia nodded at Hannah and Sarah.

"Wait what!?" Hannah sputtered out at the princess.

I can not take you with my magic and still reach the palace in time. We might as well give our lives up."

"But..."

"She is right." Hannah stared at me. "We have to get there as soon as possible. You would only slow us down. That and I don't want either of you getting hurt."

"Issac!" Hannah protested but eventually gave up. "Alright... we will go." Hannah and Sarah returned to the portal entrance. "We... we will miss you Issac. When we meet again, it will be to stay together as a group forever. I promise." I smiled and gave them both another hug.

"I'll hold you to it." Sarah stepped back through, but Hannah stayed.

"Hannah, you have to-" Her lips suddenly pressed against mine. As soon as they were there, they vanished. She leaned in to my ear.

"I love you too." She whispered her final words before running through the portal.

"Hannah..." I touched my lips and closed my eyes. She really did love me back.

"Issac?"

"I'm ready." I walked back to the group. Applejack and Rainbow Dash had a look of jealousy on their faces. "Let's finish this."

With that, Celestia closed her eyes and whisked us away, taking us to the place where it all ends. The Eternal Palace.


	14. Chapter 14: Equestria Reborn

**Disclaimer:** I don't own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I do however own all of the OC's in the story unless stated otherwise. I also don't own Rubik's cubes. Or Xbox.

 **AN:** Hey everyone... I'm sorry about the late chapter. Within the span of this last week and a half, I found out that my grandmother's twin sister has terminal lung cancer and my grandfather had a stroke. Then four days ago, my grandmother's twin sister passed away. Seeing as how I just lost my grandmother last year, I'm not really feeling all to well about anything at this moment, so please excuse the crappy start to this chapter. Remember to read the epilogue if you have any unanswered questions. They are most likely answered there. Also, the epilogue is not a Q &A. It will be in story form, but will cover anything you didn't figure out yourselves. Anyways, let's wrap this thing.

Welcome everypony to the finale of From Sadness comes Sadness. It is time for my second story to close and be put on the shelf. If you have made it to the end, I bow to your awesomeness for sticking with it through its rough patches.

This also marks my official break from FFN so I can write my novel. If you want to know how I'm doing, or you just want to know when I'll be back, I will post updates as often as I can on my profile, no less than once a week.

This is the end of Issac's journey and I hope you enjoy the final chapter. See you in the next story!

 **Chapter 14: Equestria Reborn**

 **-Eternal Realm, Issac POV-**

The face on Rarity's corpse is one I won't forget. Utter fear and confusion as her beloved sister killed her in a painful way. The others, now with time to mourn, broke down at the loss of their friend. I too felt their pain. Rarity may nit have been a very close friend, but she still was a friend, even if I hadn't known her that long.

I turn my gaze to the looming fortress before us. It's walls were exactly how I dreamed them to be. The only difference was that it seems to have crumbled even more since my last dream.

"Are you going to be able to make it from here?" Princess Celestia asks me, breathing heavily from exhausting her magic.

"Yes, we can. Thank you Celestia." The half mile or so journey would be dangerous, even with it's short length, but doable nonetheless.

"I can feel myself fading. Hurry, before Silence can achieve his full power." Celestia's form flickers in and out of sight. "Get to The Ring before he does, or else we will all perish. Farewell Issac. Farewell my little ponies. One day, we will meet again." Celestia slowly fades into nothingness. I stare grimly at the castle before turning to the ponies next to me, who have now calmed down enough to talk.

"It will be sooner than you think, Princess. Alright, let's get going. Who knows what the castle will hold and we need all the time we can get."

The girls slowly rose to their hooves and saddled their saddlebags. I noticed that they seem to be struggling to stand.

"Look at me. All of you." They turned their tear stained face towards me. "I know that it's hard. I know you just saw your friends be killed and your princess fade away, but we have to do this. You knew what the consequences were when you came along. Once we have The Ring, we can stop Silence and bring them back. For now, I need each and every one of you to push that out if your mind and focus. If you don't, you will die. You already saw death up close once today, you don't want the others to watch you die too. Can you do that for me?"

The girls slowly nodded. "Good. Now, Celestia's magic could only bring us this far. We still have a bit to go before reaching the palace. Every step you take will make this journey more dangerous. Once we reach the palace, we will be safe from the outside. Now let's go, before something finds us." I start a brisk pace towards the palace, not bothering to look behind myself to check on the others. I gave them a choice. Sit here and die, or come with me and have a chance to live. They just have to make it.

The plains were barren all around us. It was growing colder and colder by the minute. I could see my breath hanging in the air with each exhale.

An ominous presence grew around me as the palace drew closer. It seemed familiar, but I couldn't place my finger on what it was.

I heard the clip clopping of hooves on the hard ground behind me. At least they decided to come.

The palace grew ever nearer and I could hear the hesitancy in there steps. "Don't worry. You'll be fine." I reassured them without breaking stride.

"Umm... what about the pony up there?" Fluttershy's voice caused me to turn towards her. I followed her gaze to the palace doors. Alone stood a pony, clad in grey armor. His mane was black as well all his tail. The color of his coast was only slightly darker than his armor. His eyes were a piercing red.

"I don't know who that is, but we will deal with him when we reach the doors."

The final hundred feet were by far the hardest. The presence clung to everything, including myself. It reeked of death and despair. I shuddered and approached the pony. I could now see his folded wings. He is an alicorn

"Why are you here, Issac Minx?" The deep booming voice of the pony startled me into stopping.

"We have come to obtain The Ring from Lanluta. Please let us pass."

"Why should I do that?"

"Silence is going to destroy every living being in all the worlds if we don't find The Ring and stop him."

"I was not made aware of such things. Perhaps father was right, I should have picked my allies better."

"Will you let us pass?"

"Of course. I have trouble enough keeping an eye over everything now, let alone a monstrous amount of the dead joining the others."

"What do you mean?"

"I am..." His wings flared out, creating a gust of wind. "...Death."

 **-Equestria, Luna POV-**

The third day. Today marks the last day if Issac's journey, and quite possibly, the end of Equestria. Mixed feeling flowed through me right now. My subjects kept asking about Issac. On one hoof, I don't want to lie to them, but on the other hoof, I mustn't make up things to give them hope, only to have it all taken away again.

It was a hard decision to make. Looking out the stained windows of the throne room, I could see a dark cloud in the distance. It had started forming not long ago and has been growing quickly.

"Silence is almost here." I shudder at the thought of him terrorizing the populace. "Guard."

"Yes Princess." The guard at the foot of the steps to the throne turned and bowed.

"Let every other guard know what I am about to tell you. Make sure to spread the word. All ponies in Canterlot are to gathered at the Canterlot Station immediately. The dark cloud bears ill tidings on us and we must be ready when it reaches Canterlot."

"Of course Princess. Consider it done." With a quick spin, I watched the guard run out of the throne room.

I lowered my head and sighed. Today really is the end, isn't it?"

* * *

As I flew over Canterlot towards the train station, I surveyed the damage done three days prior. Buildings were in shambles, bodies littered the streets, and one section if the city was still on fire. Curse Silence and his foul heart. That is, if he even has a heart.

I could see the ponies slowly congregating towards my destination, utterly confused and lost as to why they were being summoned to the station of all places.

Slowing my wing beats, I fluttered into the station where many ponies were already gathered.

As patiently as I could, I avoided the ponies constant questioning, waiting for the stragglers to finally make it.

When they finally did, my nerves began to set in. It was going to be hard enough to tell them that Celestia had died, but even harder still was the fact they might not live long enough to see the next sun rise.

The chattering from the group slowly died down, and soon, all eyes were on Luna.

"Greetings my little ponies. I apologize for dragging you out here, but this place has the most available, and undisturbed, space. If you haven't already noticed the dark cloud forming on the horizon, you can see it clearly now." The ponies who didn't know about it, turned and craned their necks to get a glimpse of the ominous cloud.

"That cloud will reach Canterlot by the end if the day if not stopped. You are all aware of what happened three days ago. Canterlot was attacked by an unseen force, killing many innocent ponies. The one behind it all is called Silence." A shiver ran through the group at the monsters name.

"He destroyed the city... and in the process... killed my sister."

For a moment, I could hear the heartbeat of each and every pony present. Even the wind seems to have died. What came next was nothing short of a full blown hurricane.

The ponies were screaming, trampling one another trying to cope with the loss of their leader. Some just sat and cried. Others did nothing but accept it without question, knowing full well that their Princess would not lie to them.

"Ponies!" The Royal Canterlot Voice echoed off of the buildings and train nearby, grinding all activity to a halt.

"You must remain calm. Do not drown yourselves in despair. Do not feel sadness from her death. From sadness comes only more sadness. Both you and I can not afford to be caught in the iron shackles of despair. If we do... we will drown in it."

The ponies were now all listening attentively to my words, and listen they must.

"I fear... that it is up to Issac now. If he does not stop Silence at his source, Equestria will die. There will be nothing left of this world but ash. Whatever that cloud brings with it will kill us all. If Issac kills Silence then he will also be able to revive Equestria. All of your loved ones that perished in the first attack will come back. Your homes will be rebuilt. Princess Celestia will be revived."

The ponies faces shimmered with hope at hearing these words.

"However, if Issac loses, all will burn in Silence's wrath. I called you all here, not to scare you or give you hope, but to be with one another. This may very well be the last day any of us see, and as a race... no. As friends and family, we should spend it together." I kicked off my slippers and levitated the crown off my head. I could hear the gasps and whispers from the crowd.

"I could not protect Equestria in its most dire moment. I stand before you as Luna, nothing more and nothing less. If I can not save you, then I am not worthy of being your princess." I turned my head towards the giant sea of darkness hovering nearer and nearer to us. "I hope that I will live ling enough to see my beautiful night once more."

I hung my head in shame. "Ponies... pray for Issac's victory."

 **-Eternal Palace, Issac POV-**

"You... are Death?" I asked with hesitancy for fear of him claiming me as his own.

"I am."

"Mr. Death sir, could I ask you something?" Twilight stepped forward cautiously until she stood by my side.

"I known what it is you wish from me, but that is beyond my power. I am forbidden from interfering with the lives of mortals or immortals. I rule over the dead."

"You can't stop him?"

"I'm afraid not. I can help you through the palace, but nothing more."

"You mean you can take us to Lanluta?"

"I can."

"Please take us to her." Death bowed his head and turned to the doors.

His horn was engulfed in a deep crimson color. The doors were pushed open, creaking at the hinges. We made our way inside, carefully observing everything around us. I didn't put it behind Silence to attack us when we weren't paying attention.

Everything was exactly the same as my dream. The vines, the thrones, even the lighting and shadows weren't a hair out of place. If I didn't know better, I would say I was back in the dream.

"Ah don't know 'bout y'all, but this place gives me the creeps." The girls silently agreed with Applejack's observation, nodding in agreement or shivering at their surroundings.

"As long as we stick together, everything will be alright. Which way is it to Lanluta?" I made my query, directed at Death, with urgency. I'm not sure exactly how much time the Equestrians have left, but the sooner we find Lanluta, the better I will feel about this.

"This way." Death took his time in walking towards the doors to the left of the thrones. "Down this passage you will find what you seek. I can not go with you, but do not worry yourselves. You will find her if you keep true and follow the path."

The door swung open eerily. Another shudder combed its way through our group.

"Be brave Issac. You will not be tempted by the things you will find, but the others do not posses the willpower to stop the selves from falling into the shadows."

I nod my head and step through the door frame. The feelings of being watched crept up on me. The girls eventually followed me out of the throne room.

Death closed the door as Fluttershy passed through, pitching us into darkness.

* * *

Twilight managed to regain some of her senses, and cast a spell that emits light from her horn. Our shadows flickered on the walls of the corridor.

"I think I want to leave." Rainbow Dash's comment was met with heavy nodding. I shook my head and started my way towards Lanluta. She will be down here somewhere.

"Hey, do you feel anything Issac?" Twilight wondered aloud while we walked.

"Something... sinister. We should be on guard for anything that might-"

"Ooh! A party!" I wheeled around and stared at Pinkie. "What? There's a party going on in there." She points to her right and sure enough there is a party of some sort being held.

"Pinkie, we don't have time for this. We need to move. Now." Pinkie looked at me sternly, then switched her gaze to the celebration. She bounced along... right into the party room. The door spammed shut on its own.

"Pinkie Pie!" I bang my fist against the door, hoping to open it, but it didn't work. I could hear her screaming behind the door. Sounds of ripping flesh permeated the air. Her screams stopped and the door creaked open.

"Don't." Twilight stopped on front of the door, ready to push it all the way open. "All you will see is her body and we can't afford to stop now. For anything."

"But..."

"Death was very clear. He said stay on the path. She didn't. The same thing could happen to you if you go in the room." Twilight started to tear up, but I ignored it the best I could. "We need to keep moving. Remember what The Ring does. I can bring her back when we find it."

The girls walked away from the door, saddened by yet another loss. I don't blame them, but without finding Lanluta, their friends would stay dead.

Pressing on, the corridor seemed to darken even more. Twilight had to strengthen her spell for us to see anything.

"Why is it gettin' darker?" Applejack's voice wavered slightly as she moved closer to Twilight.

"I think we are almost there."

"AAAHHHHH!" A loud, very familiar, voice screams in pain. I turn around and see a door on our left.

"Fluttershy!?"

"ANGEL BUNNY! STOP! PLEA-" Her pleas suddenly ended. The door, exactly like the previous one, creaked open. We stood in silence and shock. Whatever it was that was in the room got Fluttershy. The nicest and most lovable of all ponies was just... killed by a monster.

"We... we have to keep going. I can see the exit." The door at the end of the hall was different from the others, so I assumed it was our way out. "Come on..." The other ponies obeyed, but I could tell they were as shocked as I was.

We ran to the exit. I think we all have had enough of this accursed place. I gently place my hand on the door and pushed. It didn't budge.

"Okay, stand back girls. I've always wanted to try this."

"Try wha-" Rainbow Dash's voice was cut off when the door flew open. I lowered my leg with a small smile on my face. "That was pretty cool."

"Thanks, but let's hurry." We passed the threshold into the next room. The room was much like the throne room in Canterlot, albeit smaller. At the end of the room, a lady sat in the throne, wrinkled and grey skinned from thousands of years of aging. What I was most intrigued, and angered by, was the figure standing in between us and Lanluta. The sickly green skin and dripping spikes protruding from his skin made me want to scream.

"Silence!"

"Welcome to the Eternal Palace. Congratulations on making it this far, but I'm afraid your journey ends here." His form flickered and morphed into that of a wolf. His coat was still a sickly green and the spikes were still there, but he was infinitely more powerful. I could feel it.

"What? Nothing to say to me?"

"Shut up! Why do you look like that!" I knew what his answer would be, but I wanted to hear it from his mouth.

"Oh this? This is my true form. My most powerful form. It is just as you think. You are too late. I have attained maximum power and you can no longer stop me. You are more than welcome to try though. I would hate for you to give up after coming this far."

"You're wrong. I can defeat you. I will defeat you." Silence just grinned at me.

"Then come at me."

* * *

My body is on fire. Not literally, but I feel that way from all of pain I am in. Of course, being thrown into a wall tends to do that to people. I picked myself off the ground and charged another shot. If I can hit him once and stun him, then my plan can be put into action.

I fire and he dodges it. Damn.

"You think those weak things are going to do anything to me!? You must be joking!" I growl in response and charge yet another ball of energy. "That 'sacred light' won't even leave a scorch mark on my hide!"

"We'll see about that." I fire the light above his head.

"What? Are you stupid? That's nowhere near- OOF!" While he was staring at my 'failed' attack, I hit him directly with another.

"Bastard! That actually stung a little. I guess OOF!" Since my attack stunned him for a few seconds, I hit him with another. Then another. Then another.

"Twilight!" I yelled at the purple pony, who, along wth the other two, had backed away from Silence and myself. "I need you to use all of your power and hold him down with you magic. These attacks will only do so much. If I can get The Ring from Lanluta then we can beat him."

She nodded and stepped forwards with hesitancy.

"Hey, look at me!" She stopped and stared at me in surprise. "Now is not the time to br timid about this. You need to do this. Equestria's fate is in your hooves." She seemed to shirk back a little at my statement, but it was true. Nothing I could do would be able to beat Silence. Even with my new powers, I won't be able to do more than scratch him.

"Can you do this?"

"I... I can do it. Just tell me when."

"Alright... now!" I halted my attack and made a mad dash for the throne.

"No! You can't-" Silence stopped in his tracks as Twilight restriction spell was placed on him.

Twilight collapsed on the floor panting heavily. "That will... buy you... a minute... at most..."

I reached the throne and turned quickly to face Twilight. "Thanks." I turned back to Lanluta and looked at her. Now I just have to get The Ring. I stared at her hands and saw... nothing? Wait, why doesn't she have it!

Dad said that she... contains... The Ring. So it is inside of her. I'm not sure if I should cut her open or what, but the idea isn't appealing. If she contains it, then the only way to get it would be for her to give it to me. To do that she would need to be able to physically hand it over, which is impossible in her state... unless...

I reach out and touch her forehead with my hand and focus on The Ring. I will it to come to me and leave its former master.

"Stop! You don't know what you are doing!" Silence screams from his spot on the floor. I can hear him struggling against Twilight's magic, slowly breaking through his bonds.

Damn it! I can feel it inside of her, but I don't have enough power to use it.

"Twilight."

"Yeah Issac?

"Let him go." The shock on everyone's faces was evident. Even Silence was surprised by what I said.

"What!? I can't just let him go!"

"Remember what Celestia said. You will learn the most important lesson of friendship on this journey. I'm asking you to trust me. Everything will be fine."

"But... He will kill you!"

"I know." The room couldn't have gotten more quiet if it tried. The ponies jaws fell with shock and Silence was staring at me wide eyed.

"I... I don't want you to die..."

"What's more important right now, my life or everyone else's?"

"Well..."

"Just trust me and do it." Twlight bowed her head and started to sob. Silence's body jerked slightly and he stood up. A wide grin broke out across his face.

"I knew you couldn't wild the power of The Ring! You are too weak for it!" He started laughing maniacally. "Then you let me go!? Now you will die for your insolence!" He stalked towards me until he was at the bottom of the steps to the throne. "Goodbye Issac Minx. It was sure interesting to meet my only nephew."

He lunged.

 **-Equestria, Luna POV-**

Learning more about my ponies at a personal level was gratifying to say the least. Each one had a unique story to tell and I enjoyed them all.

It was quite sad as well though, knowing that at the end of the day, we could all be nothing more than ash.

If we live through this, I will promise to do this more often. Learn about the ponies that look up to us and spend time with them, not as a princess, but as a friend and fellow pony.

The cloud is right over top of the city. Its presence cast fear over the ponies present, myself included. It was just a waiting game now.

"Ponies." The crowd turned towards me, all ears at attention. "I have to say that, while in undesirable circumstances, I have enjoyed speaking with you. It looks like Issac has failed on his journey. No pony must blame Issac for this though. He did what my sister and myself were too afraid to do. He died to protect Equestria. May we find peace in our last moments, and... what's happening to the cloud!" The ponies turned to look at the dark mass and gasped at the sight.

 **-Eternal Palace, Issac POV-**

He lunged.

His teeth sunk into my arm that I raised to protect myself. He grinned through his piercing teeth at me. I smiled back.

"Now your strength is mine." I place my hand on his head and begin absorbing his power. It hurt like hell, but I had to do it. If I could absorb enough of his power, before I died from it or the poison from his teeth now on my body, I should be able to activate The Ring. I should. I hope.

"Stop!" Silence cried out from pain. "Let me go!" His voice was slightly muffled by my arm.

"I'll let you go when I get The Ring!" I drag my arm that Silence is latched onto forward, towards Lanluta. I touch Lanluta's forehead and Silence stops moving.

"No... no you can't." I turn my head to face him. "Please! Please, I beg you! Spare my life! I'll do anything you ask of me! Plea-" Silence vanished before my eyes.

It's over... it's finally over.

The girls trotted up to me and gawked with disbelief and worry. "Issac! Your arm!"

I look down at my damaged limb and font like what I see. The wound from his bite is deep and oozing black liquid. My skin around the area has turned black as well.

"Yeah it's going to fall off. However, that doesn't matter. Twilight, have you learned the most important lesson of friendship?"

"I... have."

"Good. Now let's bring Equestria back to life." I sit cross legged on the ground. "I will send you back to Canterlot with the others. I won't be leaving."

"Hold yer horses there partner. Y'all just defeated Silence. Yer comin' back with us."

I smile at Applejack. "The poison from Silence gas already spread to most of my body. For me to use a the Ring to save Equestria, I will have to give up all of my memories. I will forget how to breath and suffocate."

"No! You're coming back with us!"

"I can't Rainbow. The poison is too strong to stop without using The Ring, and if I use it, I might forget why we cane here in the first place."

"But that's not fair! I... I love you! I want you to come back!" Twilight and Applejack went wide eyes at Rainbow's confession. Even more so when she started to cry.

"I know. I didn't say it would be a happy ending, but it will be a peaceful one. Now it's time." I close my eyes. The air around me begins to stir. I can hear the girls sobbing in front of me.

Goodbye ponies. You changed my life more than you could know. Goodbye friends. I will miss you more than you will ever know. Goodbye... Hannah. We will meet again someday. Then we can be together.

The last things my ears hear before I fade are...


	15. Epilogue: His Story

**Disclaimer:** I don't own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I do however own all of the OC's in the story unless stated otherwise. I also don't own Rubik's cubes. Or Xbox.

 **AN:** Epilogue time! If you have any unanswered questions, submitted one to me, and/or it wasn't in the final chapter, it will most likely be answered here. This takes place 3 months after Issac's death and Equestria's restoration. Enjoy!

 **Epilogue: His Story**

 **-Canterlot Palace-**

"...and through such actions, Issac saved Equestria by giving his own life in place of our own. For this, he will always be honored and remembered." Ink Blot closes the page to her book and sighs. It's finally done. "What do you think Princess?"

"It is a perfect representation of Issac's life." Princess Celestia smiled down at me. "He would be proud that you wrote it, Ink Blot."

"Thank you Princess." She bows and leaves the throne room, passing a group of six pones on the way.

"Rarity, is your boutique fixed?"

"Ah, yes Princess. It is as good as new. I don't know why it didn't fix itself when Issac... well, the money he left was plenty to fix the boutique and amy other damaged building's in Ponyville.

"That is good to hear. Twilight, are you ready to give me your report?" Twilight steps forward.

"I'm sorry princess. After seeing that much death up close... and then Issac..."

"I understand. Death is not one wants to witness first hoof, but sometimes we must."

Twilight nods and clears her throat. "Dear Princess Celestia. My journey with Isaac will be one I never forget. It open my eyes to the world in more ways then one. I'm saddened to see a friend go, but as Issac put it, I had to trust him. I chose to trust him and Equestria was healed.

My friends and I experienced enough hardship for a lifetime in those short days. I can't speak for them, but I wouldn't trade anything in the world for what we shared. It taught me that there is more to friendship than honesty, kindness, laughter, generosity, loyalty, and magic. Sometimes situations arise in which there is no easy way out. We all must make sacrifices and that is the most important lesson of friendship.

Sacrifice.

Issac sacrifices himself for the lives of others because it was the right thing to do. He believed that sacrifice was a part of life and he was right. Sometimes, you must let go of the things that are not as important because you have no other choice. Even if that something is your own life.

I hope that one day, if the need arises, I can display the same level of courage that Issac did and make the right choice.

Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle."

Celestia gazed at her student. "Twilight Sparkle. Your report was perfect. However, don't start thinking of Issac as nothing more than another report. He means a great deal more to all of Equestria.

 **-Ponyville Square-**

A young filly sits at Sugar Cube Corner, eating an ice cream cone at a table. Her eyes sparkle with recognition as a stranger enters the beloved bakery. The stranger, who was indeed strange, wore a long cloak covering their face and was nearly as tall as Issac.

"Issac?" Upon hearing his name, all of the ponies turn to the stranger. "Is that you?"

The cloaked figure turns towards the young filly and walks to her table. A scarred hand places a few bits on the table and mutters a few words.

"For being so brave... Shining Star." The figure than turns and leaves the shop.

Rumor has it that deep in the Everfree Forest, even deeper than Zecora's hut, loves a strange being. One that walks on two legs and never shows its face. If you see the beast without its hood on, you will never be heard from again, it a rumor.


End file.
